Yanki King of Ouran
by Sugar Baby Strawberry Love
Summary: (Co written with JBaby1121) Haruhi has never been one to fall in love until Marcus Sakurai transfers to Ouran Academy. They begin forging a friendship that grows into something more. Is it a newfound love or is it just a friendship to last throughout the ages? What's a natural type to do? (Haruhi x OC and Hosts x OCs) Rated M for strong language.
1. The Southern Prince

**Author Note:** Welcome one and all to volume 3 of the novels for the introduction of the newest loves for the host club! This story will be focusing upon Haruhi and her romance with her boyfriend Marcus Sakurai. This story will be a bit different from the others as it'll be more on the mature side as Haruhi and Marcus are one of the mature couples in the series. This story will feature the hosts and a few of their girlfriends and this takes place before and during the of Sunflower Green Tea. This is also co-written with my little sister JBaby1121.

 **Disclaimer:** Ouran High School Hosts Club is the property and copyright of Bisco Hatori. My sister and I are just playing around in the world and doing our stories for a different take on the world. The Girls a.k.a. Queens of the Host Club belongs to their respective owners. Marcus and the Sakurai family are the property and copyright of JBaby1121.

 **Chapter One: The Southern Prince**

 _Oh, good, Lord._

It had been a long time coming but finally, it was their last day at this school and his baby sister had made sure that no one would forget it. On their way to this jungle by the bayou she kept making plans to finally handle one of the biggest nuisances, they had the displeasure of being around the entirety of their schooling. Usually, he would try to calm her down to keep her from getting another strike but "Red", or whatever her real name was, made the mistake of talking about their Granmere days after they interred her in the Devereaux family mausoleum.

Hattie Mae Devereaux, perhaps the most beloved woman in the Garden District. Hell, that woman was so loved and feared even the Klan wouldn't dare burn a cross on the yard of the old house. But that disrespectful little _thang_ had the nerve to talk about her. If she wasn't a girl he would've laid her out himself.

Shit, just the thought of it made his blood boil but he didn't have time to get angry. He had to get to class.

Closing his locker, he tucked his books under his arm and navigated through the crowded halls to his first class. Each step and shared look slowly becoming tinted through nostalgic glasses. He remembered his first day there, the time he tried out for the varsity football team, his first actual love...Hell he even remembered the first time he had to knock someone on their ass. He had to admit that he was going to miss this ratchet ass school, their Granmere's decision to send them to school in the lower Ninth Ward instead of one of the ones in their own parish not completely lost to him. She wanted them to understand that the world didn't revolve around lineage and money like other pedigree kids would be raised to believe.

So the fact that their new school would be Ouran Academy all the way in Japan was irony at work. Sending them from the jungle to a five-star hotel was laughable. From the research he did once their parents informed them, Ouran didn't look too kindly at their kind. Not the fact that they were halfers, though he was positive that that would get them some stares since they didn't appear half Japanese, but the fact that their blood uncle was in the yakuza.

No, it was an understatement. He was the head of the family and the kumicho of the namesake clan. The clan that is probably one of the top ten crime syndicates in the world. To make it a little harder for them, he was to take over as head of the clan and his sister was to be his lieutenant.

 _This should be fun as hell._

"Yo, Marcus!"

Marcus looked up from his desk once he had sat down. Crowded around it were his teammates and a couple of the cheerleaders. He gave them half a smile as he leaned back in his chair.

"Yo, wassup?" he asked with a lazy grin after scanning them. He knew they had been planning something for him since he told them, guesses would assume they finally decided on what.

"So, you're leavin' tomorrow?" One of the cheerleaders asked with a smile as she sat on his desk, blocking his view of the others.

"The first plane out, Ayisha."

"Well, then we might as well give you this now then."

The group smiled when they saw him raise an eyebrow. Ayisha grinned softly and moved, revealing to him two small boxes. One was rectangular and skinny while the other was more cube-like.

"Y'all ain't have to get me nothin'," Marcus said as he took the boxes.

"Yeah yeah, we know, but hell we couldn't let you leave empty-handed."

"Especially since this gonna be the year you won't be here to take us to the championship." A player said with a grin. "G'wan an' open it."

Marcus rolled his eyes and opened the first box. In it was a platinum watch with a black face and white markings. He could hear the group laugh at his wide-eyed expression. He set it down and opened the long box. In it was a platinum chain.

"Since the one Missus Hattie gave ya' broke."

"It was Torrian's idea." Ayisha grinned as she nudged the dreadlocked boy next to her.

"Thanks, y'all."

"You ain't gonna cry are ya?"

"Oh hell, we finally broke the big black bastard!"

Marcus rolled his eyes. "Fuck all y'all, you can't even break a dollar." He grinned when the others laughed. He stood and laughed softly when Ayisha and the other cheerleaders hugged him tightly. Reaching around them he dapped up the players before he pulled Torrian into a hug.

"Yo, we'll see you after right?"

"Yeah, gotta clean out my locker."

"Aight, bet."

He shook his head, sitting down at his desk when the teacher came in. He looked at his gifts once more before he put them in his bag. How the hell was he gonna find friends better than that?

* * *

It felt like lunch crept up on him. His first two classes were long, tedious and boring. Strangely enough, they were supposed to be AP classes. Hopefully, the classes at Ouran were to be a little bit more of a challenge but he had no hope for that. Walking down to the cafeteria he was greeted by more faces that wanted to say their goodbyes. Some of them he hadn't spoken to since freshman year. They probably just wanted to brag about once he was gone.

Typical vultures.

Entering the cafeteria, he saw a table fly in the back and a large crowd surrounding where it came from. That only meant one thing: his sister found Red. He groaned in annoyance for foolishly hoping that he would've got the chance to eat breakfast before he was forced to break them up. Pushing through the crowd, Marcus found his sister at the epicenter. Her yo-yo tied around Red's neck in an attempt to choke her out.

"Chupacabra!" he shouted over the commotion. "Chupacabra!"

 _Shit, she's in the zone._ That meant one thing and one thing only, he needed to find a way to separate them without getting shanked again. He took his jacket off and wrapped it around his forearm as he approached them slowly, much like a matador would a bull.

"Chinatsu Anne!" He shouted one more time. Shared hazel eyes met, but she showed no sign of releasing Red. With an annoyed curse, he walked around them and picked her up in a full nelson, locking her arms up with his.

Marcus could hear her cursing him loudly in both Creoles as her legs flailed, kicking Red repeatedly as he dragged her off.

"You big black bastard lemme go!" She cried. "I almost had her!"

"You almost killed her!"

"Exactly!"

"We're about to leave and we can't do that wit' an open case on you."

He saw her pout and slump, which meant she knew what he was saying was true. With a small sigh, he adjusted her in his arms, tucking her under one as he carried her out of the cafeteria much to her behest.

"Let go of me, Crawdad!"

"If I do that, you're gonna run off and murk her."

"Jackass."

They were silent for a while as Marcus carried her to the outdoor eating area. He looked down at her and snorted to himself, he knew that the scrunched and screwed face she was making was her deep thought face.

"You're gonna be fine."

"I know that! I ain't have friends here and I ain't gonna have them there, I don't care."

"You'll be fine, who knows you might find someone crazier than you. Wait, nah I'd rather you be lonely then."

"You six-foot jackass!"

Marcus laughed as he was elbowed by his sister. He chuckled and patted her on the head.

"Jackass." She puffed her cheeks out.

"You gonna wait for me to take you home or you gonna ride home with Ma?"

"How long you stayin'?"

"Gonna hang with Torr for a bit before I go home." Marcus sat her down at a table.

"Need condoms?" China snickered.

"Need a breath mint, halitosis?"

"Oh fuck you!"

"Well?"

"Nah, I'll go with a Mommy and finish packin'. You got all your stuff?"

"Most of it's already at the new house."

"Overachiever."

"Lazy ass."

* * *

Marcus pulled into the driveway of the old house, his motorcycle roaring idly as he studied the exterior once more. To make sure every knot in the wood and Knick of chipped paint was permanently ingrained in his memory. He had many firsts here and it was bittersweet to leave it all. But he was sure he'd be able to make just as many in Japan.

At least he could always come back to the old place, his old friends.

Cutting the engine, he removed his helmet and put it in its storage compartment before taking slow steps up the front porch. He could smell food wafting out through the cracked window. His mother's cooking smelled almost as good as his grandmother's.

At the bottom of the door, a small panel opened as a small white dog ran out to greet him. It began jumping up and down barking happily. Marcus smiled and stopped to pick it up.

"Hey Sugar, you ready for tomorrow?" He asked as he stepped inside. The dog yipped and licked his bearded chin.

"Oh good, you caught her...I thought she ran away." An accented voice said with a sigh of relief.

"Nah, she must've heard Harley in the driveway." Marcus said as he set the dog down and followed the voice to the kitchen.

In the large kitchen stood his sister and mother. China was busy putting together the deviled eggs as his mother was pulling the meatloaf out of the oven. She turned to Marcus after setting the pan on a long potholder and walked up to him. She gave two kisses to his cheek before patting his back.

"G'wan an' get your father. Dinner's almost ready."

"Sure." After kissing her cheek he then went into the living room. His father sat in the recliner reading a paper. "Dad, dinner's ready."

"Alright, Crawdad." His father set the paper down and stood with a stretch. He stood eye to eye with his son, if not a few inches taller. Marcus saw him pat his shoulder before walking into the kitchen.

Following him, Marcus had to admit that it felt nice for them to all be at the dinner table again. Though they were missing his older brother and two other people, it still felt nice. Watching his father kiss and hug his mother, he realized that he and his siblings were the perfect blend of the both of them. Their almond shaped eyes and tall stature came from him while their hazel eyes and dark coarse and curly hair came from their mother. Their overall beefy physiques, dimpled smiles and blemish free light to medium brown skin came from the both of them.

"Marcus, set the table baby," his mother said with a charming smile as she playfully pushed her husband off her.

"Oui." He said as he grabbed the chinet plates and began setting the table along with the plastic forks.

"So when we land tomorrow we're goin' to the house to unpack before going to your Uncle's house." Their father said as he sat at the head of the table.

"By then helium hooters will be back in town." their mother said shaking her head.

"And the day after we're getting a quick tour of your new school before we finish unpacking. The chairman cleared his schedule to see us around."

"He's probably scared the Chupacabra is gonna devour everyone's soul."

"Hey! Daddy!" China whined.

"Marcus be nice. Your sister can't help that she gets that from Annie," their father snickered while shrugging away from a swat from his wife.

"She'll be fine, and I know that Yuzuru has a son that's about China's age...so you both may meet him on the tour." their mother looked at China. "And I'm sorry baby but Ichi isn't letting Easter Bunny come to Japan yet."

"No fair!"

"You've lasted a year, you can go a few more months." Marcus shook his head.

"Marcus, you're driving Harley to the airport tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, they're gonna put her in carrier right?"

"Yeah, and we'll have them ship it to the house. You're eighteen so you should be fine to drive it over there."

"I just gotta get my license over there." Marcus said with a shake of his head.

"So after dinner, you two go straight to bed so we don't have to fight to wake you up."

"That's only the Chupacabra."

"Like hell it is!"

 **End Chapter**

 **Author Notes:** So, begins the start of the Sakurai children's adventures as they begin moving to Japan to start their new lives. What will happen next? When will they meet the host club? Find out in the next chapter!


	2. A Chaotic Meeting

**Chapter 2:** **: A Chaotic Meeting**

Warm sun filtered through ceiling high radius windows into a room which was inhabited by various plants, some with medicinal values and some solely for viewing. In the center of the room sat a coffee table fashioned out of magnolia and a set of matching chairs. On the table was a spread of tea sandwiches and freshly made beignets.

He knew this room well. It was the solarium located on the south side of the mansion. As Marcus approached the table, he felt a different kind of warmth envelop the room. Sitting down, he saw the hand of an elderly woman set down a cup of freshly brewed white blossom tea before reaching back across the table. As his eyes followed her movements they eventually laid on a dark-skinned, elderly, heavy set woman that favored his mother. She donned a white church hat with a peach ribbon around its base, the brim wide and casting a shadow over her eyes. She flashed him a smile and nodded to the tea in front of him.

"Gwan Crawdad take a sip an' let it calm you." Her voice was deep yet feminine, holding a matriarchal tone to it.

"Granmere, I'm not nervous," Marcus said softly as he lifted the cup to his lips.

"Oh?" she sounded amused. "And why ain't you? You're gettin' a whole fresh start. New country, new city, new school, friends. I would be more jitt'ry than a sinner in church."

Marcus shrugged. "Just ain't. No point in bein' nervous about it, I'm gonna have to get used to it anyways."

She clicked her tongue with a small smile on her lips. "Jus' as cool as the inside of the Frigidaire, like always."

"Granmere…" Marcus sighed as he picked up a beignet and ate it. He wasn't sure why he did, he knew it was a dream. That he was actually on a private plane that was currently crossing the Pacific. "You're visitin' me for a reason."

"Do you wanna know or do you wanna tough it out on your own like always?"

"Even if I didn't you'd drop hints."

"Of course, cher!" His grandmother laughed as she scooted forward in her chair. He saw her look into the teacup, probably studying the way the leaf spun in its small confines. She looked up at him when she heard a small sigh come from his lips. "Marcus."

"Sorry, ma'am." Marcus went back to quietly drinking his tea. It was sweet with a flowery aroma to it. The liquid oddly warming his insides and the taste complementing the beignets he just downed.

"You'll be tested here moreso than you were goin' to that zoo."

"Tested? How?"

"I'll let you figure that out." She grinned. "You don't need to worry about makin' friends that you can trust. You won't be able to get rid of 'em like a leopard can't itself of its spots. Oh, but they'll try your nerves though. And it looks like you're gonna find yourself a nice lil' girlf-"

"Granmere…"

Hattie Mae looked up to see her grandson looking down at the teacup in his hands.

"It's nothin', I just miss ya a lot."

"Oh I know sweetie, but I'm never gone." She leaned forward and lifted up the silver cross necklace. "I'm always with y'all, watchin' over ya and protectin' ya. If you ever get to pinin' just look at the gifts I gave you."

"Alright."

Hattie Mae smiled as she leaned back before standing slowly. The white dress she wore pillowing behind her as she walked around the table and wrapped her arms around Marcus, pulling his head into her chest.

"Your family needs you to be strong, but it's okay if you stop bein' that way for a moment or two. Don't feel like you don't have to step away to breathe."

"Yes'm." Marcus closed his eyes, a small smile tugging at his lips as the hug felt real. He could have sworn he heard a faint heartbeat as well as smelled the perfume she always wore.

When he opened his eyes he was no longer in the solarium but was on the plane. His sister was sound asleep in the chair across the aisle and further up his parents were piecing together a meal for them to eat. He sighed heavily and leaned back in the chair, running a hand through his braids.

"Merde." He groaned softly.

* * *

When they finally landed, the family exited the plane and stretched their legs by walking around the runway before proceeding to load into the waiting limo. Marcus paused in the middle of his stretching to watch his motorcycle be loaded into a trailer before shaking his head. Looking away once he was satisfied that it was put up safely, his gaze settled on watching his father talk on the phone. From seeing his brow furrow, Marcus could assume that it was neither his uncle nor aunt.

Hell, not even his younger cousin made his father that irritated. Despite that, the lack of rigid posture determined that whoever it was wasn't an enemy. He watched him for a little longer before he saw him end the call and rejoin them.

"Hiso, was that the chairman?" Anne-Marie asked with a small yawn.

"Yeah. The Chairman of your new school will be dropping by the house later to drop off your uniforms and schedules as well as a welcome pamphlet." Hisota said as he looked at his children.

"Great." Marcus looked over at China at hearing the eye roll in her voice.

"Be nice and watch your language baby girl." Hisota told her with a small chuckle.

"What? I don't curse like that daddy!"

"You swear more than a trucker, Chupacabra. All ya need is a big rig and a HAM radio." Marcus snickered.

"Oh, pic kee toi!"

"Point proven."

Anne-Marie shook her head with a small laugh as she pushed her children in the direction of the limo. "In you go! The sooner we get to the mansion, the sooner you two can unpack and the sooner I can cook! You do wanna eat, yeah?"

"Duh!" Her husband and children laughed.

Once they arrived at the mansion, China was the first to bolt into their new home. Marcus was behind her, though pausing to ingrain the facade of the building into his memory. He glanced over his shoulder to see the trailer sporting his motorcycle driving up the long, roundabout driveway. He looked back to the house and ascended the white stone steps to the entryway. Inside, he was surprised to see that the entry hall was decorated to resemble that of the old mansion as closely as possible. He did a quick sweep of the first floor, moving through the parlor, living room, den, kitchen and dining room to find that all rooms had been decorated to look as much like the home they had known for years as possible.

The second floor where the bedrooms were were given the same treatment. His room was painted dark gray and black with alternating walls. Most of his football trophies and accolades had been unpacked for him and placed in a mahogany case in the farthest corner of the room. He had his desk in the same area as it was back home, his bed, bookcase, keyboard and even pictures were as they were. What was new was that his room was suddenly large enough for two recliners to sit in between the foot of his bed and the flat screen that hung on the wall. He gave a small chuckle as he set his suitcases on the bed and began pulling clothes out of them. He had to give them an A for the effort. Hell he was surprised that they even knew what most of the old house looked like. After unpacking the only thing he noticed was different was that his weights were missing.

"Holy hell! Crawdad! Do you believe this?!" his sister's excited voice boomed from a few rooms down the hall.

Marcus stepped out of the room to see her head pop out of her doorway. She was grinning so brightly her almond shaped eyes were nearly closed as that one curl on the top of her head twitched in glee. Marcus couldn't help but laugh at the site before walking back towards the stairs. Heading down, he looked around the main hall before proceeding down one end. Passing the living room, he noticed one room had a door cracked open. Pushing it open, he was greeted by the sight of a fully furnished home gym complete with punching bags, full weights, and tackling dummies.

Another small smile came to his lips and he walked out of the room. Drawn to another room he saw that there was a solarium completely furnished and teeming with freshly bloomed plants and flowers. The screened back door opened to a large rose garden with cobblestone paths that led to an even larger backyard. In it was a large inground pool with a smaller inground hot tub a few paces away. Across from that was a two story pool house.

"Goddamn, it's like the Banks moved to Japan." Marcus whispered under his breath as he sat on one of the stone benches in the garden and looked out at the expanse of their yard.

Little did he realize that his mother was watching him from the sliding glass doors of the living room. Anne-Marie smiled softly before turning and heading to the kitchen. She looked at her husband who was busy dictating instructions to their staff for a moment, after which she moved to the refrigerator to begin pulling out food to cook.

"Madam you should really let me-" one of the butlers stopped when he received a look from her.

"Arashi, I would like to cook for my family and our coming company. If you wanna help, you can wash your hands and start dicing the veggies I laid out."

"Yes, ma'am." Arashi bowed and went to do as he was ordered.

Hisota looked up and waved the rest of the staff off. "Annie,"

"I'm fine Hiso. Our children seem to like the mansion." Anne-Marie said with a small smile. She went silent for a second as she began tenderizing the meat. "We're doin' the right thing and tryin' to make the transition as easy as possible. Their old rooms, most of the old house, mama's solarium. It's like they never left."

"Annie." A small sigh was heard before Anne-Marie felt her husband's arms wrap around her waist from behind, drawing her into the broad chest their sons inherited from him. He placed a kiss on her temple as he rubbed her stomach in soothing circles. She could hear his heartbeat and felt hers calm as well.

"Hiso."

"They'll be fine once they adjust." He reassured her with another kiss to the temple before letting her go. Hisota moved by her side and began rolling his sleeves up. He washed his hands quickly before he picked up a knife and began cutting the tenderized meat.

Anne-Marie smiled softly and gently bumped her husband with her wide hips before continuing preparing the food. They worked in silence with only the sound of Anne-Marie's voice singing soft spirituals filling the kitchen. As the meat was put in the oven, the doorbell rung, removing the three from their concentration.

"I'll get-"

"I'll get it. You rest and have some tea, you've been moving nonstop since we got here." Hisota kissed his wife's cheek before leaving the kitchen.

Approaching the entry hall, he saw one of the maids bowing to a tall Japanese man with blond hair. By his side was a younger woman dressed in a skirted suit with a large bag in her arms.

"Oh! Sakurai-san, Suou-san and his guest are here!" the maid said brightly with a nervous bow.

Hisota smiled and waved her off. "I'll show him in, will you go round up my children Chie?"

"Yes, sir." Chie bowed and went off to do as she was told.

Hisota turned back to the man. "Chairman Suoh."

"Sakurai-san, how are you and your family settling in?" the Chairman asked with a small smile as he and his secretary followed Hisota further into the mansion.

"The children are off exploring and my wife is having tea in the kitchen, please join us." Hisota said as he led them to the kitchen.

The Chairman smiled at the sight of Anne-Marie pulling down the tea cups. "Ah, lovely! I will have two sugars and dash of milk Maid-chan."

Anne-Marie turned and glared at the Chairman. "You _what_ now?"

"Ah, two sugars and a dash of milk, please." The Chairman repeated in English, not noticing the woman moving slowly for the butcher's knife next to her.

"Yuzuru," Hisota cleared his throat, holding back a small laugh and growl of annoyance. "This is my _wife_ Anne-Marie. Annie, this is the Chairman of Ouran, Yuzuru Suoh."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Anne-Marie-san," Yuzuru took her hand and placed a kiss on it before smiling. "I must say that your eyes are as beautiful as honey fresh from the hive."

"Uh-huh." Anne-Marie pulled her hand from his and went back to fixing the tea. She sat cups in front of her husband and Yuzuru's assistant before she sat at the island with her own cup.

"I do hope that you don't mind that I've brought my assistant with me, apparently she's heard stories of the Sakurai family being the most feared family in Japan." Yuzuru laughed and waved a hand. "As if the rumors are true."

"Oh, they are." Anne-Marie said curtly before proceeding to speak in Creole to her husband.

Yuzuru and his assistant saw Hisota shake his head while slowly moving the knives from the reach of his wife.

"My wife is right. Most of the rumors you've heard aren't rumors."

"So there is some truth to them?" Yuzuru asked shaking his head. "I guess that I owe Akira-san some money then."

"Tall ass he-bitch."

"Annie."

"Lite-brite ass nigga still owes me money."

"I'll be sure to relay the message to him." Yuzuru chuckled. "By the way, have you talked with Ichiro-san about allowing his daughter to attend Ouran? I've seen her records and I do believe she's a perfect fit."

"Her records or her GPA? Either way Yuzuru, you need to discuss that with my brother. You're here to talk about our children, right?"

"Of course but you could also convince your brother." Yuzuru said quietly before smiling. "I should've brought my son with me, I bet he would've been great friends with your children. The boy needs more friends."

"If he's like you, thank God for small miracles." Anne-Marie said simply, taking a sip of her tea.

"Actually," Yuzuru said as he pulled out his phone from his pocket and unlocked it as he brought up pictures of his son. "This is my only son Tamaki. He's a bright boy but has a few issues adjusting to Japan."

Hisota saw Anne-Marie take the phone from Yuzuru.

"Annie, don't."

"He's havin' problems adjustin' cause your mother doesn't want him around." Anne-Marie said as she set the phone down and gave Yuzuru a challenging look. "And instead of standin' up for him you're playin' step n' fetchit for your mother."

"Actually, I was speaking of how he's not used to interacting with normal people." Yuzuru said quickly. "But you are right, I do need to stand up to my mother, but I'll worry about that once I am sure that my plan to oust the old bat from the company is complete."

"Uh-huh well, his m-" Anne-Marie let out a small squeak when her husband shoved a tea cake in her mouth.

"Annie, if you keep reading him you'll wreck his brain." Hisota told her with a small smile, chuckling as her cheeks were puffed out while eating the tea cake.

"It's alright if she does so," Yuzuru laughed. "Now, about your children, I've looked over their records and I've decided to place Marcus-kun in Class 3-A as his scores were impressive and Chinatsu-chan will be in Class 2-D….because of her records of getting into fights."

"Can't argue with that. I've seen her take down some of Ichi's men." Anne-Marie laughed.

"This also prevents her from being on the same floor as my son's girlfriend." Yuzuru said. "I do not want the campus to turn into a war zone...and it's also to keep one of our male students safe from the wrath of the Sakurai."

"Don't tell me his son goes there."

"Yes, he's my son's best friend." Yuzuru said. "But don't worry the boy isn't like his father, he's more like his mother."

"Yeah, yeah. Hiso, we'll have to tell Ichi later then since he made his mother a promise."

"We'll do that when we go over for the cookout."

"Also, your son has been recruited for a place on our football team," Yuzuru said. "Along with your daughter having a place saved for her on the dance team and of course your niece's place on the volleyball team."

"Our niece might not attend-"

Anne-Marie looked up at the sound of Yuzuru's assistant making a soft gasp and squeal. She looked past her to see Marcus was entering the room with his shirt draped on his shoulder.

"Ma we got any cold water?" Marcus asked as he made his way to the refrigerator.

"Should be plenty. Crawdad baby, this is the Chairman, Yuzuru Suoh and that now pile of mush is his secretary."

Marcus nodded to Yuzuru and flashed a smile to his secretary.

"Oh goodness, he's cute." The secretary said softly blushing as she fanned herself. "Are you sure that young man is in high school?"

"I'm eighteen chere," Marcus answered with a small chuckle as he took a sip of his water.

Anne-Marie looked at her husband with a small smirk. "That Sakurai charm clicks on again." She whispered to him.

"Ah...right...um…" the secretary giggled softly.

"Marcus-kun right?" Yuzuru asked with a smile as he took the bag from his now swooning secretary. "I do hope you will enjoy your time at our humble school, I have brought you the uniform for every season and your new football uniform. You'll have to go to the school's tailor to pick up your winter coat."

"And we'll have to buy some cover for your tattoos sweetie." Anne-Marie said as she made a motion to the dragon on his chest and the cross on his left shoulder.

"Why? He's at school, he'll be dressed for most of the day."

"Hiso he's your son. Give him the chance and he'll strip because he hates the way the clothes feel."

"She's not wrong dad." Marcus shrugged.

"I do not do-"

"Do I have to remind you of the Macy's incident?"

"No, no you don't." Hisota sighed.

"He should be fine, we allow tattoos but they must be covered during physical exams." Yuzuru explained. "Other than that he's fine."

"Now just because he said that please keep your stripping to a minimum Crawdad." Anne-Marie shook her head.

"I make no promises." Marcus looked at the bag. "Is there a parkin' pass in here?"

"A parking pass?" Yuzuru asked. "Um the students usually don't operate vehicles but if you need to park somewhere you're free to use the student auto club's garage."

"They not gonna play Sacramento Chop Shop with my rides are they?"

"No, as it's currently run by one student," Yuzuru said as he took the folder from his secretary and showed Marcus the student who was in charge of the club. "Takashi shouldn't bother with your vehicle unless he gets the need to change the oil on it."

"Oh look, a tall ass he-bitch."

Yuzuru was about to say something when a crash was heard outside. He groaned in annoyance and could hear frantic yelling. "Of course, my idiot son is outside."

"That sounded like. Oh, hell naw!"

The adults saw Marcus sit the bag and folder on the island before he bolted out of the kitchen to the entryway before running outside. He scanned the driveway before his eyes laid on a tall and lanky blond teen that was trying to lift up his Harley while a brunette girl stood next to him yelling at him in Spanish.

"Hey!" Marcus shouted as he ran over to them. He grabbed the blond by his shirt and slammed him on his back on the concrete. "The fuck is your problem?!"

"I...I'm sorry! I was just admiring your commoner vehicle when it fell," the blonde said. "I was actually on my way home, but I was curious about who lived here."

Marcus glared at him, looking him over. "You're the Chairman's idiot."

"Wow not even three minutes here and you figured out?" the girl asked snorting. "Yeah that's right he's the chairman of Ouran's kid, sorry about him being an idiot, most of us all ran away when we saw the bike fall dude, sorry about that...by the way you're pretty hot."

"No es difícil de entender." Marcus let the blond go and looked at the girl as he stood. "Marcus Sakurai, cherie."

"Oh um...yo dude I'm Sally Moore." she giggled softly. "And that boy you brutalized is my boyfriend René"

"¿Novio? Parece que no puede manejarlo."

"Oh, él es bastante atento y leal." Sally waved a hand before switching back to Japanese. "Rene's a great boyfriend and a hell of a dancer too...oh excuse me for a second." she removed her shoe and threw it into the bushes. "Oi stop taking root over there you tall ass tree and come out!"

"Crawdad what was that noi-oh it's the idiot's son." Anne-Marie said with a shake of her head. She looked from her son to Sally to the tall young man that was slowly arising from their bushes. "Hey! Your father owes me money young man!"

The young man stared at Anne-Marie and didn't say anything. He dusted himself off and plucked a small blond from the other side of the bushes.

"Wah! Takashi don't do that!" the blond wailed loudly flailing. "Mean!"

"The hell? Y'all just brought a whole ass welcome wagon." Marcus grumbled as he picked his motorcycle up and buffed and scrapes from the paint before propping it up with its kickstand.

"Not everyone," the small blond wrestled from the tall boy's grasp and ran to Anne-Marie. "Hi, Mama-chan! Are you Dark-chan's mom?"

"Dark-yes I am Marcus' mother." Anne-Marie smiled as she picked the boy up and cuddled him. "Crawdad sweetie get dressed and go to the store for me. I need to make the pasta to take over to your uncle's later."

"Sure." Marcus said.

"You kids go on home now, oh and don't trespass again. Our electric fence will be live tomorrow."

The blond looked up at Anne-Marie curiously as he cuddled her. "You're warm Mama-chan."

"And you're a sweetie! I'll fix you a to-go plate with some tea cakes."

"Yay! I get cake!" the blond giggled and looked up as he waved. "Hi, Mini-Mama-chan!"

China sat on her balcony, looking down at everyone. "Mommy! You know you're holdin' a boy Crawdad's age, right?"

"I figured with the way he's holdin' onto my chest." Anne-Marie looked down at Honey. "Come down here and say hello. All of them are goin' to your new school."

China sighed as she stepped on the railing of the balcony and shimmied down the column to the front porch. She dusted herself off.

"Sup?"

"Oh wow she can climb down," Sally mumbled removing her jacket and tossing it on her boyfriend. She walked over to China and stared her down. "I heard you were moving here but I didn't think we'd meet here."

"And I heard you're one of the toughest bitches at this prep school." China said as she pulled her hair into a tight bun.

"You heard right," Sally said. "I was wondering how long you were gonna keep duckin' me."

"Ain't no one duckin' yo' ass." China looked Sally up and down as her hazel eyes flashed. "Feelin' froggy? Then hop 'cross this border."

"Ooh, you didn't just say that!" Sally screamed as she ran towards China and tackled her to the ground.

China locked her legs around Sally's abdomen and rolled, reversing their position. As she sat on top of her, she began punching her in the face as hard as she could.

Sally's eyes widened as she was punched before she reached up and grabbed China's fist and twisted it. She glared up at the girl and managed to roll around and pin her to the ground as she began pulling her hair with her free hand.

"Cheap tricks huh?!" China brought her head back and headbutted Sally. When the girl let her go she spun and kicked her across the face before tackling her with more blows to the face.

"The fuck!?" Sally cried before groaning in pain. She reached up to her hair and pulled the small discs that had been holding up her ponytails. She threw one up at China and smirked when she saw blood.

"Bad move." Marcus called to Sally.

Sally blinked and looked up to see China was glaring at her with fire in her eyes. She stood and lifted Sally upwards before falling back with her in her arms. Sally's back connected to the ground and China rolled to her feet. She grabbed her by her ponytail and dragged her along the concrete to the wall. She pulled the girl up and tightened her grip on her ponytail, pushing her head forward to slam it against the brick.

"Don't do that mini-mama-chan!" the small blond had gotten out of Anne-Marie's arms and ran to stop China. "Please don't hurt Sal-chan pretty girl...I'll give you a cake if you're nice!"

China stared at him before she let Sally go. "Fine baby boy, but stop me again and I'll punt you."

The blond nodded. "I promise I won't."

"Damn…" Sally grumbled rubbing her head. "You can fight...but fuck you didn't need to drag me...aww man my mama's going to beat my ass when she sees my face tonight."

"Did time in juvie, went to a literal hellhole, plus my uncle's Ichiro Sakurai. If I don't know how to fuck someone up then I'm a waste." China said simply.

"Still, you need to keep your face protected," Sally noted. "My CD cut through your skin like butter...you also need to be faster in response time...especially if you want to fight badder bitches than me."

China turned to walk away after moving her hands behind her head. "Check that arm, that fast enough of a response time?"

Sally looked down to see a large cut on her arm. "How the…" she blinked. "Ok you're fast...damn that's going to scar...alright you've proved yourself...you're a bad bitch that I can call my friend."

"The bayou don't breed nothin' but bad bitches." China shrugged with a grin. She looked over to see her mother shaking her head.

"Since you won, I'm not gonna beat your ass three ways to Sunday." Anne-Marie sighed. "However if you did lose in your own yard I would-"

"Annie." Hisota shook his head with a small laugh as he walked over to the group. "Is this welcomin' party done now?"

"Oh we should be going...but first." The blond smiled brightly as he took Anne-Marie's hand. "I do apologize for my girlfriend's crass behavior, please do not be angry Mama-san. By the way, I'm Tamaki Suoh, I do hope that you won't think any less of me and my friends."

"Boy worry more about-yeek!" Anne-Marie let out a loud squeal as she was thrown over her husband's shoulder. "Hiso!"

"I told you no more reading people Little Anne," Hisota said as he carried her to the door. "Kids go home, Marcus go to the store and China go clean yourself up."

"Your parents are weird," Sally noted with a small laugh as she looked at China. "Hey, come over my house tomorrow after school. It's Latin night and you can meet my fam." she grabbed Tamaki by the back of his shirt. "And I'll be sure to invite my other homegirls." she headed off.

The tall dark-haired young man looked at China and smirked. "I am...pleased to have met you." he said walking off.

"Oh, you tall ass!"

"Hey! I'm parkin' in your garage from now on!" Marcus called after him.

"It's fine! I'll give you a spare key to the garage!"

"Bye Mini-Mama-chan." the small blond cuddled China before running after his cousin. "Takashi wait up! We have to go get Chika-chan!"

"That was weird as shit," Marcus said as he looked at his sister. "You wanna come with? Cause you already know what our folks are about to do."

"Yeah, lemme fix my face first."


	3. Of Shopping, First Meetings and Dinner

**Chapter 3: Of Shopping, First Meetings and Dinner**

"This is the nearest store to the house?" China asked as she got out of her brother's car and stretched.

"Yeah. Twenty minutes ain't that bad when we're in a big ass gated community. It took fifteen just to get outta there." Marcus said as he stood. "You get the dressing and the cake stuff and I'll get the pasta and fixin's."

"Oui, oui." China took half of the list and headed in ahead of Marcus.

With a shake of his head, Marcus followed after her and turned off after grabbing a basket. His first stop was the pasta aisle, grabbing two large boxes of noodles before heading to the produce section. As he shopped, he found himself having to look over his shoulder every so often. It felt as if all eyes were on him, watching his every move.

Goddamn people actin' like they've never seen a mixed person before, he thought in annoyance as he looked at the different fruits and vegetables in front of him. He began grabbing the items on the list, stopping when his hand touched another. He looked down at a short brunette with short hair.

"Oh, you can take it." Marcus told them as he grabbed another.

"You could've taken it." the brunette said putting the carrot in her basket she was carrying on her arm. "Anyway, you should know that fresher vegetables are sold on West Sakura Road."

"Thanks for the info, I just moved here." Marcus said. He watched her reach upwards for the cucumbers. He smiled and pulled two down for her. "Here."

"Thanks." The brunette walked over to the other side of the display and looked down at the package. "No way...they sell these...awesome I'll need to get a few of these to get enough stamps to send away for her signed poster."

Marcus walked over, call it curiosity and snickered softly. Part of him wanted to tell her that he could get her one for free but she wouldn't have believed him. He shook his head.

"See ya later miss." He waved to the brunette.

"Yeah sure," the brunette said looking up before she headed off to go find more packages of the strawberries molded to look like rabbit heads. As she walked through the store she blinked and saw Marcus again. With a small laugh she walked over to him. "Hey, you shouldn't get that...it's um...cheap."

"It's fine, I got a way to make cheap shit taste fancy." Marcus winked at her as he set the bottle of sauce in his basket.

"Oh um...yeah...so you're new around here?" the brunette asked. "Since i've never seen anyone like you around before."

"Just moved here with my sister and parents today. We're goin' over to a barbecue at my uncle's once I leave here." Marcus said and looked at her. "Marcus Sakurai."

"Oh um...Fujioka Haruhi….I live nearby so I came here to take advantage of the sale today," she explained. "My dad won't be home until late so i'm making myself something for dinner and then i bought a few things for lunch tomorrow."

"Oh well if you want some good food you could come with us to the cookout."

"Thanks but i don't want to int-." haruhi pushed past him and went to a display. "Oh my god they sell these?! No way! Sugar Superstars...for the Superstar in you!"

"You really like that idol, hm?"

Haruhi nodded. "Yeah, perfect skin, hair and her voice is so sweet! I've heard she adopted eighty bunnies and donated them to a children's hospital! And have you not see her ad for sunscreen? She is the sweetest person the world and if I ever met her I'd tell her so."

"Do you wanna call her?"

"Call her?" haruhi blinked. "Hell yeah! But to get a Skype call to her costs at least one thousand forty-five yen a minute!"

"Not on Skype." Marcus pulled his phone out and pressed a number on speed dial. The phone rung a few times before Marcus spoke up. "Bunny, you got some free time?"

"Yeah, I do...I have um...twenty minutes before I have to go on stage for my interview with Wendy." Bunny said. "What's wrong? Did my mama need to speak to me?"

"Nah, we haven't gotten over to the house yet. I'm at the supermarket and just met a superfan of yours. She wanna talk to you."

"Wha really?! Aww Marky! Put her on!"

Marcus handed the phone to Haruhi. "Go ahead, don't be shy."

Haruhi stared at him as she took the phone before she blushed. "Um...hello Mitski-san?" she began before letting out a loud squeal and began talking rather fast.

Marcus snickered and listened to her for a moment before taking the phone. "Did you catch all that?"

"Yes I did," Bunny giggled. "Is she ok? I heard her start sniffling...i hope I didn't make her cry."

"I think they're tears of joy."

"Aww...that's so sweet….oh I gotta go they're calling me to come to the stage." bunny said. "Make sure you tell mama to tape my interview, I mean she does watch the show every week so she shouldn't be adverse to watching my interview and also can you tell Uncle Ichi that i love him? And thank you for my new backpack."

"Aight, see ya on your next break Bunny."

"Bye Marky! And tell your friend to keep shining bright and to be an amazing super star!" Bunny giggled before ending the call.

"Oh my god…" Haruhi whispered. "She's so amazing! Listen dude I'll pay you back for making that call."

"Nah, you're good. I can call her whenever I want for free."

"Oh...you're her boyfriend?" Haruhi asked. "I should've figured that."

"Nope. Cousin."

"COUSIN!?" Haruhi cried out and stared at him. "No way!"

Marcus nodded with a smile.

"Crawdad!"

"You ready?"

"Yep! Come on, Aunty wants us there to watch interview."

"Uh...see you." Haruhi headed off nearly skipping away in joy. "So cool!"

"So I take it that's a no to the invite?" Marcus called after her.

"Sorry can't!" Haruhi called back. "But see you around dude!"

"She got your nose wide open."

"Shut up. I just met the girl."

* * *

"Please follow me," a maid said as she had greeted the Sakurai family and led them to the parlor. "Master Ichiro is waiting for all of you and Mistress Stella's busy in the nursery right now."

"Baby Tooooooot!" China pushed past her family and ran into the nursery. "Where is he!?"

A heavy set woman with short dark hair turned around and smiled softly. "Oh hello Chupa, aren't you going to give me a hug first? Or do you just want to see your new baby cousin? How sad...my favorite niece doesn't love me anymore."

"Of course I love you!" China chirped and cuddled her aunt happily. She grinned as she looked at her. "Oh, Crawdad met a girl in the supermarket today."

"Did not! Snitchin' ass Chupacabra."

"Crawdad be nice," Stella said as she cuddled China. "If you met a girl then that's fine, just make sure to wrap up. You don't want to raise a newborn just yet. Even if they are cute like Ichi jr."

"Aunty!" Marcus groaned as he hid his face in embarrassment.

"Heehee." China giggled and squealed at the sound of the baby cooing. "He's awake! Crawdad look!"

Marcus walked over to the baby and smiled. "He looks like Unc if he was left out in the sun."

Stella laughed. "I'm glad he looks like Ichiro," she said. "Heaven knows if he came out looking like someone else I would have to explain why, but go ahead you two can hold him, I've changed him and he has been fed….but don't let your mother get a hold of him...she might put him in her purse to try to take him home."

"She does that with KJ all the time. Wolf just lets her." Marcus chuckled as he picked the baby up and let him curl up in his arms. "Hey lil' chunka."

"Aww he likes you." Stella squealed. "You can take care of him, his name's Ichiro Tarou Sakurai Jr, but we call him Tarou."

Marcus smiled and laughed when he felt his hand vibrate. "I'll call him Toot since he just farted."

"Go ahead." Stella laughed. "Also you and Chupa have bedrooms here if you want to stay with us. I know how much you two like visiting on the weekends and I also made sure to set up Lapin's bedroom once she is able to finally come here...and we live next door to some nice young men...one of them actually brought over some vegetables for me this morning. I think he's your age Crawdad."

"He's Akira's oldest!" Anne-Marie called.

"I knew that!" Stella called back and shook her head. "And on the other side of us is Michie-chan whom I'm sure that Chupa remembers...after all you did use to pull her hair for cuddling Lapin."

"My Bun-Buns!"

"I know."

"Anyways, where's Unc?" Marcus asked as he adjusted Tarou and let the baby cuddle into the crook of his neck.

"If i know your uncle he's probably holed up in his office," Stella sighed. "He put up a new portrait of Lapin behind his desk and has more pictures of her around the office. I just got him back to sleeping in our bedroom because he'll sit up all night in Lapin's bedroom."

"He misses her. We all do." The baby gurgled and drooled on Marcus's neck. "Toot too."

"Well...um...I haven't told Lapin about him yet." Stella admitted. "And i haven't told her that Ichi's her father either...I am waiting until she gets here next month...after all Kenji and Lottie will be moving into their new home."

"Crawdad you needa go talk to Unc about the Summit in a few weeks!" China said as she pushed her brother out. "Go. Go!"

"Okay, okay!" Marcus walked out of the room with the baby. He went down the hall to his Uncle's office. The door was ajar and he could hear his father and uncle talking. He waited for a lull in the conversation before he opened the door. "Unc."

A man a couple of years older than his father looked up and smiled at him. "Crawdad, I see you stole Tarou."

"Oh I forgot he was in my arms for a minute." Marcus admitted with a small laugh at the baby cuddling him.

"I see." Ichiro Sakurai smiled at his nephew as he leaned back in his seat. "You start school tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah." Marcus said as he sat in the chair beside his father.

"You'll be fine. I heard you met the Chairman's son and some of his friends."

"Yeah, the Chupacabra drug his girlfriend by the ponytail." Marcus snickered. "Anyways Unc, about the Summit?"

"Oh that? I made sure that you two'll have an excused absence from the school for those days. You'll go, meet some of the other heads, and then we'll have the official sake ceremony with the other bosses as the witnesses."

"And the Ootori?"

Ichiro let out a small growl. "We don't need to think about them. Yoshio's not stupid enough to go where he's not wanted."

"He tried to attend your and Stella's wedding, brother." Hisota said with a small chuckle.

"I do believe that was because he was drunk."

Tarou let out a soft whine as he filled his diaper. He began to wail loudly.

"I got him." Marcus said as he laid the baby on the desk. He looked up to see that his uncle pulled out wipes and a fresh diaper. With a shake of his head he quickly changed his diaper, discarding the full one in the desk side waste basket.

Tarou whined softly before he quieted down and cooed happily. He waved his hands in the air clumsily. Marcus smiled and pretended to eat his cheeks and nose.

The door to the office opened as a man with dark brown hair poked his head into the room.

"Boss, i was told by Star to come find you," he said. "Apparently you bought the wrong cake mix home."

"It was the only mix they had in the store." Marcus said.

The man laughed. "Marcus-kun? You're here? It's been awhile! You have grown a lot you look more and more like your mother everyday...shame you didn't get anything from your old man." he sent a teasing glance at Hisota.

"Rei, still jealous that you didn't get Annie?" Hisota asked with a teasing laugh.

"Never wanted Annie," Reiichi admitted. "I would've been happier marrying Star but the boss here dangled me over the balcony when the princess used to call me daddy when she was a year old."

"I would've dangled you by your balls but Star told me not to."

"See? You Sakurai men don't need to worry I won't steal your women," Reiichi said waving a hand. "And boss your shipment of twinkies was dropped off this morning and are hidden in the garage."

"Good "

"Another diet Unc?"

"I collapse one time and your aunt thinks I have one foot in the grave."

"Boss that was after you decided to binge eat thirty twinkies and those little things that the princess sent you." Reiichi added. "What were they? Ho-Hos? Or were they those cheese filled log things."

"She sent me Swiss Rolls and they were good." Ichiro said simply.

"And you collapsed in a food coma but didn't move when Star asked you to move." Reiichi chuckled. "Just so you know...your meal will be made for your diet...Star's cooking it now."

"Goddamnit."

Tarou squealed loudly and kicked his legs.

"And you have another crate of strawberry bunny rabbit heads from the company the princess is promoting." Reiichi said. "And Hisota-san, the princess sent you a gift as well, a brand new watch."

"I'll have to send her some more pearls."

"I never understood how you get shit you can wear and Unc gets food. You eat just as much as he does."

"I get clothes sometimes, but I prefer food." Ichiro said simply.

"And the princess is Hisota's favorite niece." Reiichi added. "While the boss punishes her for even doing a photoshoot with men."

"Keyword men. I do not want my sixteen year old daughter around a bunch of twentysomething and up men that are known to be skeevy."

"She only went to one awards show with Drake and you flew to Los Angeles and shoved that young man into traffic."

"Hey he survived and now Pusha T buried his ass for me."

"And this is why you get food." Reiichi chuckled. "Marcus, if you do leave the room make sure you don't push open the other door, your sister is waiting for you to come out to take the little prince."

"Snitch!"

"You're not gettin' the baby! He's mine now!"

"Oh come on! You already got KJ! Share the baby!"

"There is a baby next door to your house." Reiichi said as he walked into the hallway. "She's about KJ's age."

"Awww!"

"No you're not gonna ninja into the house to steal the baby."

"Daddy!"

"Don't worry she can play with the baby next door too," Reiichi said. "I think her name is Lain, she's Miss Michie's little sister."

China stood and opened the window to Ichiro's office.

"Chupacabra."

"Baby stealing chupa hop!" China shouted as she jumped out the window.

"Weird…" Reiichi said. "Oh and boss do you want me to wrap up a plate for Tanuhi? I can drop it off when i go out to the bar."

"Tanuhi?"

"Tanuhi is your uncle's goddaughter," Reiichi explained. "She's 16 years old now and she's home alone tonight since her father's working at the bar late tonight. Apparently he's doing some drag show."

"She don't happen to love the Bunny idol a lot does she?"

"I think she does," Reiichi chuckled. "She's a cute little thing, big eyes, and really stubborn."

"Yeah she is...I mean small world." Marcus cleared his throat.

"We asked her to come over for dinner but she refused." Reiichi snorted. "Even after Ichiro said she could stay the night while Ryoji plays Rupaul."

Ichiro looked at Marcus when he heard him chuckle. "What's on your mind?"

"I met her earlier today in the market, called Bunny for her and then invited her over to the cookout."

"She rejected you?" Reiichi blinked hearing the doorbell ring. "Oh...someone get the door!"

"Annie get the door!" Stella called to her sister-in-law. "You're closer to the door!"

"Oh ha ha ha Helium Hooters!" Anne-Marie called back as she opened the door. She blinked at the young girl. "Well aren't you a cute lil' tanuki."

"Um…hello is err...Ichiro-san home?" Haruhi asked holding an overnight bag and bowl in her hands. "My dad told me to come here to stay."

"Ichi-darlin!"

"In my office Tanuhi!"

Haruhi went silent but bowed to Anne-Marie. "Thank you for allowing me inside ma'am." she said heading to Ichiro's office. "Um Ichiro-san? I'm sorry for intruding but my dad didn't want me to stay home alone."

"No it's fine, come in." Ichiro smiled. "Tanuhi, meet my nephew Marcus."

Haruhi gasped. "YOU'RE HIS NEPHEW?!" she cried. "Then that means...oh god...I...um...hello!"

Marcus laughed as he rubbed Tarou's back. "You ain't gotta be formal with me."

"I...uh...I-is that a baby?"

"My son, Tarou." Ichiro laughed softly as Tarou burrowed into Marcus more.

"You have a son?" Haruhi asked as she looked around the room. "Oh um Ichiro-san you still haven't put up the altar for your daughter you lost?"

"Lost?"

Haruhi nodded. "Yeah, your uncle lost a daughter who was 16." she said. "I mean why else would her pictures be everywhere?"

The Sakurai men looked at one another before they all laughed boisterously with dimpled smiles.

"Ichiro-san if you want I can set it up for you," Haruhi said walking to the pink vase on the mantle. "I mean she is in here right?" she asked. "Unless...you finally put her to rest."

"No no, my daughter is alive. She's just overseas right now."

"What? Really? Then who is…" Haruhi opened the vase and saw candy inside. "Oh...wow I used to leave offerings there for her…"

Ichiro laughed softly. "Crawdad, show Tanuhi to her room and then get washed up for dinner."

Haruhi walked over to Marcus. "Um...so err..could I?" she gestured to Tarou.

"He's comfy."

"Oh yeah, my son won't share babies." Hisota chuckled softly.

"Seriously?" Haruhi glared at Marcus and took Tarou from him. She looked down at him. "Hey little guy, you're cute and warm, you know what? You're going to hang out with me tonight. I'll protect you from that weird exotic-chan that was running out of a house next door with another newborn."

"That's my sister." Marcus shook his head. He snorted when he heard Tarou whimper and whine. "You're holdin' him wrong."

"What? I am?" Haruhi asked. "I'm cradling him carefully unless he doesn't like laying down."

"May I?" Marcus stood and carefully adjusted Tarou in Haruhi's arms. He smiled when the baby quieted down and let out a small yawn before looking up at them both with curious brown eyes. He reached a finger up and gently poked his cheek, earning a happy coo from him.

"Oh wow, he's so tiny."

"There you go, you gotta make sure his head is right in the crook of your elbow if you're gonna hold him layin' down." Marcus told her with a soft smile before pulling away and taking her bag. "C'mon."

Haruhi nodded and followed him as she cuddled Tarou gently. "So you could've told me you knew Ichiro-san."

"I told you my last name. There ain't a lot of Sakurai in this part of Japan."

"Oh...right…" Haruhi laughed. "And you were going to tell me your cousin wasn't dead when? I mean I only used to visit your uncle and aunt because I thought they'd want to know what it's like to have a teenage girl around since i thought they lost a daughter."

"The daughter you think they lost is the one I called for you." Marcus laughed. "You can visit all you want, I'm sure they love havin' you around."

"Oh… WHAT?!" Haruhi cried before calming down when she heard Tarou whimper. "Your cousin...is...and your uncle is….oh my god why didn't I see that?!"

Marcus laughed more. "Don't tell anyone. Outside of the family and the men you're the only one that knows."

"Oh I won't tell anyone," Haruhi said. "My friends would have a fit...especially my one friend, he's her biggest fan to the point that he's sent her gifts every year for her birthday...A white dress and pink roses."

"Oh. Him." Marcus shook his head as he opened the door to Haruhi's room. "Anyways, here's your room for the night."

Haruhi smiled. "Thanks." she said. "And you know about my friend?"

"I helped my older brother with security during our summer vacations."

"Oh? Kind of makes sense, you are pretty muscular...not that I was staring." Haruhi walked into the room and sat down on the bed as she laid Tarou down. "Hey little guy! I'm gonna eat you!"

Tarou let out a coo as he grasped Haruhi's hair when she blew raspberries into his stomach.

Marcus laughed as he crossed his arms over his chest. "He just emptied his diaper so the next thing that comes out is gonna be from the top end."

"What?"

Tarou let out a soft wail before he spat up right on himself and in Haruhi's face. He teared up and began to wail louder. Marcus picked Tarou up and patted his back.

"Come on. You got one more in there, don't ya?"

Tarou wailed more before he spat up on Marcus's shoulder.

"The poor thing." Haruhi said quietly as she wiped her face with her shirt before she took it off and tossed it into the nearby hamper. "At least he didn't get my undershirt."

"Yeah, he's got a funky stomach. I could tell by the way his shit smelled." Marcus laid Tarou on the bed and took him out of his dirty onesie before he pulled his own dirtied shirt off and rolled it up.

"Aww...maybe he should drink milk to help his stomach?" Haruhi asked. "I mean most babies drink special milk to help."

"Ma's got a fix for it, worked for us." Marcus said as he laid Tarou against his chest and rubbed his back gently

"Oh…so what school are you going to?" Haruhi asked. "A public one or are you going to that Military academy that kids who have issues go to? The one where delinquents attend?"

"Ouran. I left one hell hole in NoLa, not goin' to another.

"But I heard that your uncle went to that military school." Haruhi said. "I mean your uncle used to be in a gang too…"

"Used to?" Marcus snorted. "To be his goddaughter you don't know a lot about him."

"I only know what I'm told...and what I observe." Haruhi said. "I know he and my mom were good friends and that he used to babysit me...and that he helped my dad after my mom died but then after that my dad and him stopped socializing."

"Unc's not just a businessman." Marcus shook his head. "And I'm sure for whatever reason they stopped hangin' out was either for a good reason or your protection."

Tarou cooed and yawned, burrowing more into Marcus' arms.

"I didn't think of that." Haruhi sat on the bed and shook her head. "It's weird to be honest...to know that your uncle has taken care of me...I mean he and your aunt have taken my dad's place during my school events...like when I was in 4th grade he showed up when I had an allergic reaction to peanuts."

"You're allergic to peanuts too?"

"Yeah," Haruhi laughed. "It sucks too...my friend Kaoru makes this awesome peanut buttercup ice cream with real pieces of Reeses candy and I've only got to taste it once...when I decided to be hardcore. I ate at least four bowls before I stabbed myself with my epipen and told them to call for a paramedic."

"Ballsy." Marcus laughed softly. "Where do you go to school at?"

"Ouran Academy." Haruhi said. "It's different than the one you're going to...since Ouran public school is way more lax than the one I go to."

"I'm not goin' to the public school. I'm goin' to Ouran too." Marcus looked at her. "Why would you assume I'd be goin' to that piece of shit?"

"I dunno you seem like the type to go." Haruhi laughed. "You're tough...and you'd scare anyone because of your size. You're like...uh Wreck it Ralph!"

"I take offense to that. I look way better than Wreck It Ralph."

"I don't see it….you're gonna wreck it!" Haruhi teased and began laughing. "Or wait...no I know who you could be….hey would you curse me, my family and cow with dishonor?"

"No, I'd feed ya to the hyenas or bring some friends from the otha side." Marcus said, his voice deepening. He turned to Haruhi. "Since we're goin' to the same school how bout I drop you off in the mornin'?"

"I rather use my train pass." Haruhi said waving a hand. "It's easier than going off to school and being dropped off in a fancy car...my friends will talk."

"Not a fancy car, just my car." Marcus shrugged.

"You can drive?" Haruhi asked. "Aren't you only 17?"

"Eighteen. But in America, you can get your license at sixteen."

"Oh…" Haruhi said. "Ok, i guess it's fine you can drive me to school...but i'll pay you back."

"You ain't gotta do that. I know that everyone will be up and out before it's time to get ready for school. Plus you're only down the road from our house."

Haruhi nodded. "Well ok." she said before looking up at hearing a squeal. "Oh...it's Exotic-chan and a baby girl."

"Chupacabra will you take her back to home?"

"No! Hey, why are you shirtless and the little tanuki from the market in her undershirt-ooooh that's just nasty with a baby in the room!"

"Ain't no one doin' that, get yo' head outta the gutter."

"We were talking." Haruhi laughed softly. "And why did you kidnap that baby?"

"Because Crawdad doesn't share babies."

"You don't either."

"Anyways, you enjoyin' the view Sweetcheeks?"

"uh...I…" Haruhi blushed. "It's fine...so you sure you don't want to return that baby? She looks sad."

"She's just hungry. If you're gonna be around us you need to get used to it. He's a nudist."

"Am not. Just hate clothes."

"That's a nudist."

Haruhi looked at Marcus. "Seriously?" she began laughing. "You shouldn't do that in public."

"The most you'll get in public is this unless you ask for more tanuki."

Haruhi glared at him. "Seriously?"

The baby girl let out a soft whine and put her mouth on China's chest. China smiled and turned to leave.

"Aunty! Feed the next door baby!" China called.

"What? Next door baby?!" Stella cried in shock. "Chinatsu Anne take her back home! She was a preemie and has special milk she has to eat."

"Finneeee!" China stuck her finger up at Marcus when she heard him laughing.

Marcus shook his head and looked at Haruhi. "You know what I just noticed?"

"What?" Haruhi asked curiously.

"You look kinda cute when you glare."

"Uh…Thanks…"

Marcus smiled and stood. "I'm gonna put Toot down for his nap. He's finally conked out."

"Oh sure…" Haruhi looked at him. "Wait you called him Toot."

"Cause he farts a lot." Marcus shrugged as he left the room.

"Seriously?" Haruhi said watching him before she shook her head and unpacked her things.

"You settlin' in Tanuhi?"

"Oh um yes." Haruhi said with a small smile. "I'll start on my homework soon, I don't want to put it off until tomorrow morning."

"Alright, but before you get started dinner will be soon."

"Ok." Haruhi said. "I can probably wait until then, I'll go tell Marcus-san."

"How are you two gettin' along? I know he's more crass than what you're used to."

"He's actually rather nice, pretty easy to talk to about anything."

"Good. Just know that if you can't come to me you can go to him." Ichiro smiled softly.

"Ok…" Haruhi said with a small smile. "Ichiro-san thank you again for helping me and my dad out."

Ichiro smiled. "I made a promise to your mother when she found out she was pregnant with you. If it's one thing you absolutely need to know about my family is that we never break promises."

Haruhi nodded. "It's a nice thing Ichiro-san." she said before she blushed and hugged him and then let him go. "Ahem, that hug was just cause you need a hug from a girl because your daughter isn't here...not because I am an emotional one...I am a dudebro."

Ichiro laughed and pulled her into another hug. "And that was just in case you needed a hug from a father figure." He patted her on the head before leaving the room.

Haruhi shook her head and went to her bag as she pulled out a small tanuki doll. "Tanu, don't tell anyone I hugged someone ok? I am a dudebro...at least nothing else will go wrong."

"HARRRRRUUUUUHIIIII COME OUT AND PLAY!"

"Damn it…"

"Goddamn Suoh brat, how the fuck did he find our scent?" Ichiro was heard grumbling as Hisota laughed.

"Brother, do you wanna do the thing?" Hisota asked.

Ichiro stopped his grumbling to smile. "Sure, let's scare the brat."

"HARUUUUHIIIII! Come out and play! We're going to a movie!" Tamaki called from his place on his bike. He looked at his friends. "Haruhi can't hear us...aww man."

"Call her on her phone idiot."

"Why are you shoutin' like you don't have any home trainin?"

"Ah...hey! It's someone that's not Haruhi's father." Tamaki said. "Can Haruhi come out and play? We're going to a movie."

"She's havin' dinner, go away." Hisota came and stood beside Ichiro. Both brothers crossed their arms over their chests and glared down at the boys.

"We can wait," Honey said brightly. "We want to take her to see Deadpool 2!"

The older men looked at each other before pulling out double-barreled shotguns.

The boys' eyes widened and they let out loud screams of terror before taking off on their bikes or in Tamaki's case falling over as he tried peddling away. Once the boys were gone they walked back inside the mansion.

"Dinner!" Anne-Marie called.

"It's dinner time?" Haruhi asked as she walked into the kitchen with her book in her hand. She continued reading as she did.

"Go ahead and go to the table Tanuhi." Stella said as she stood near the wall where the phone was. "Oh no Lapin, I was talking to a guest, yes we're having your uncle's famous barbecue...what? Oh no I'm sure that Ichi's too busy to talk to you."

"Says who? Gimme that phone Star."

Stella looked at him. "Alright here," she handed him the phone. "Remember you're supposed to be "uncle Ichi" not "daddy"."

"When are we gonna change that?"

"When we're sure that Claude isn't around," Stella said. "Go on and talk to her now darling, she has something to tell you."

"Fine." Ichiro shook his head and answered the phone. "Hey, Baby Girl."

"Uncle Ichi, I'm not a baby anymore, I'm 16!" Bunny giggled. "Can I have permission to start doing movies?"

"You're askin' this because you got offered a part?"

"Yes, there was this director for a movie called Cinderella horror that came to the hotel I was staying in." Bunny explained. "It's about Cinderella living with a bunch of men and they're being stalked and killed one by one."

"I'm not gonna say no outright. Have Lotte send me the script and I'll read over it. If I don't like it, no."

"Ok, oh and I was asked to appear in something called Alice in BJland...by another director who said my body was perfect for the lead."

"Hell no-give me his name, right now."

"Oh his name is...err Leon King." Bunny said. "He said he knew someone at some studio...Uncle Ichi can i be a Playboy bunny?"

"Hell no! Star! Talk to your daughter! Rei!"

"Oh dear…" Stella took the phone from him. "No no your uncle's not mad persay...he's just shocked...and sweetie no you cannot be a Playboy bunny, that's something your aunt Annie is on the week-oww! Damn it Annie!"

"Stop lyin' to my baby!"

Marcus shook his head as he sat next to Haruhi after setting their plates down. He started eating with a small laugh at hearing the commotion around them.

"Your family sure is loud," Haruhi noted and laughed when she saw China come back. "Oh hey, Birb-chan's back!"

"Birb?" China asked with a pout as she fixed her plate.

"Yeah we're loud, that's just how we show our love." Marcus laughed softly.

"You're cute like the red angry bird." Haruhi said with a smile at China before looking at Marcus. "Does that also include your uncle going to the door with a suitcase and a...gun bag?!"

"Unc!"

"I'll be back by the weekend!"

"Oh welp, he's gonna murk someone."

"Geez...oh! Ichi bring be back a little glass figurine if you go to Vegas!" Stella called after him. "And bring Annie another pair of granny p-oww damn it Annie!"

"You wish you had an ass like this. Ichi! We want Gucci!"

"Yeah, yeah." Ichiro kissed his wife on the forehead before walking into the nursery to kiss his son goodbye. When he walked out he smiled at Haruhi. "Tanuhi, you need anythin' ask Crawdad or Star. Or Hisota and Annie."

"Yes sir," Haruhi said. "Have a nice trip."

"Oh dear…" Stella said shaking her head. "I'll call a lawyer in case Ichi gets arrested in America."

"It's fine." Rei called. "I'll keep the boss out of trouble as it's my job as his best friend."

"Hey, I forgot." Haruhi said. "I have to go to the movies tonight with some friends of mine. Marcus and Birb-chan do you two want to go?"

"I was gonna work out."

"You're buff enough you half-black bastard." China cackled.

"Fine, I'll drive."

Haruhi snorted. "Your parents weren't married when he was born?" she asked curiously.

"No, they were. They weren't married when our oldest brother was born."

"Oh," Haruhi said and snorted when she saw Marcus's cup. "Aww a little bug cup! How cute!"

'Isn't it?" Stella asked walking over to the table with a napkin as she wiped Marcus's mouth for him. "My Crawbaby is so cute huh? He's such a darling and has been an aunty's boy since he was born. Why i remember when he was a year old he used to streak around here without a diaper on and did his special dance."

"Aunty!" Marcus groaned as he hid his face in his hand.

China laughed. "Aunty you're embarrassin' him in front of his new girrrlllfrieeend-yeek!" China jumped up and ran from the table as Marcus chased after her.

"Marcus Ray!" Stella called. "Come back here for a second right now!" she smiled softly when he came back as she held out a foam bat. "Use this….now go get her."

"BATTER UP!"

"Aunty whose side is you on?!" China cried as she ran away.

"I'm on my Crawbaby's side!" Stella called laughing. "Oh and don't give me that look, Annie, you and Hiso spoiled my daughter."

"We don't know what you mean."

"You don't huh?" Stella mumbled. "Two words...Barbie Dreamhouse….and let's not forget how you guys took her from the hospital for three hours before bringing her back when you couldn't feed her."

"It was payback from you and Ichi spoiling those two."

Stella rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say Thunder thighs." she said waving a hand. "By the way keep your thunder to a low clap tonight...i don't want to hear about poor Hiso being unable to walk for a week."

"I'll make it clap as loud as I want."

"MA!" China and Marcus cried.

Stella laughed. "You traumatized my poor babies," she said glaring at Anne-Marie "how awful….that's child abuse…"

"Child abuse is letting a four and five-year-old go to an all you can eat buffet and let them eat until they throw up on the ride home."

"They needed to eat." Stella laughed. "And besides your children do eat more than an army and I was glad to have let them eat all they could and would still let them...oh speaking of which Crawbaby there is a platter of devil's food cupcakes for you. They're all yours so you don't have to share."

"Hell yeah!"

"Auuuntttyyy!"

"Shouldn't you kids be on your way to the movies now?"

"Right." Haruhi stood up and went to the door. She looked back and saw Marcus and China hugging their aunt.

"Oh and one more thing." Stella handed Marcus and China some money. "Buy anything at the theater you want….and Chupa be a good girl and I'll make you Chupa cakes for your lunch tomorrow."

"Chupacakes!" China chirped.

"Okay, okay, let's go." Marcus pulled China to the door.

"Come on Crawbaby!" Haruhi teased.

"I'm gonna dunk a tanuki in the fountain!" Marcus ran after Haruhi.


	4. To Movie Date or Not to Movie Date

**Chapter 4: To Movie Date or Not to Movie Date**

"So is Haruhi coming or not?" Sally asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"She'll come soon," Tamaki said. "After all she did promise, and we do need to give her the special outfit we made for this movie tonight."

"You guys should've called her first." a ginger haired boy said in annoyance. "I mean it's bad enough we have to share a theater with that girl Kaoru's obsessed with."

"I didn't know Haru-chan's dad had a car." the small blond boy said as he saw Haruhi getting out of the back seat of a black American made car.

"I didn't either." Tamaki said. "Haruhi! Hey you're right on time! Who's car is that? Is your dad inside? Nevermind! Hikaru and Kaoru grab her!"

Haruhi blinked as she was grabbed and whisked off by the twins. "I'll see you two inside!"

The other hosts all laughed in unison before following them inside.

"What kinda weird ass white people shit?" Marcus asked with a grumble as he locked the car and walked to the theater with China.

Haruhi groaned quietly as she returned to the group wearing a Deadpool costume. She cursed under her breath and tried to walk without stumbling only to run into someone from behind.

"Yo, that you in there tanuki?"

"Yeah…" Haruhi said in annoyance. "My idiot friends put me in this because we're all wearing Deadpool merch...I hate they made me put this on."

"Next time just kick 'em in the nuts." Marcus said with a shrug as he lifted her mask up.

"I'll do that." Haruhi sighed. "Come on let's go inside...I really don't want to sit with them but they want me to...especially since Hikaru's being a pissed off rich bastard about something."

"Oh well don't sit with 'em. Sit up top with me."

"Alright." Haruhi said. "Hey where's Birb-chan?"

"Gettin' popcorn."

"Oh ok." Haruhi said. "She'll catch up with us. Come on the movie is being shown in theater 1."

"Aight, aight. Tanukipool." Marcus snickered.

"Asshole!"

"Marcus," Haruhi said nodding to a seething China. "What's wrong with her?"

"She looks like she's ready to kill someone. Chupacabra, up here!" Marcus waved his sister to the top of the theater. He watched as she stomped up the stairs and plopped in the seat on the other side of him. "What's wrong?"

"Some ginger asshat and bitch baby clerk tried to tell me my ass was too fat!"

"Really?" Haruhi asked. "How rude of them to say that...your butt is cute from what I've seen."

"Thank you!" China grumbled and kicked the seat in front of her.

"Maybe the guy who was out there may be in another theater." Haruhi rolled her eyes at the sight of the hosts in two rows down from them talking quietly to one another.

"I don't care. Lil' boys ain't shit!"

Haruhi shook her head and sighed as she started watching the movie. She blinked a few times when she could've sworn she saw some popcorn being tossed. "The hell?"

"Chupacabra what're you doin'?"

"I see the ginger headed shit!" China snapped as she kept throwing popcorn down the theater.

"Geez...ah soda!" Haruhi moved out of the way and saw the soda hit China. "Are you ok?"

"Got you big assed Cardi B wannabe!"

China gave a furious shriek before she leapt over the two rows and landed on the person who threw the drink. She grabbed him by the back of his head and began slamming it into the floor.

"Ah hell…" Haruhi cried. "We have to stop her...aww man she got a hold of Hikaru!"

"He shouldn't have started it. Let 'em get his ass kicked." Marcus said and snickered when he saw her suplex the boy.

Haruhi watched the fight and sighed in relief when she saw Mori had grabbed China off of Hikaru.

"That's not gonna work."

Haruhi looked back to see China had wrestled free of Mori's grasp, much like an eel and lunged at Hikaru again.

"Wow…" Haruhi said quietly as she saw Security had finally arrived to break up the fight. She groaned. "Damn it...we're all gonna get thrown out."

"No we're not." Marcus said though looked up at the security guard that approached them. "Can I help you?"

"Are you with these troublemakers?"

"Nope, we're on a date." Marcus lied. "Can we get back to the movie now, sir?"

The security guard nodded and went back down to help the other guards carry China out.

"Your sister's going to be mad." Haruhi said with a small laugh.

"She'll get over it. I actually wanted to see this movie too." Marcus said as he reclined backwards.

"Mn...ok." Haruhi laughed as she went back to watching. She knew her friends would probably whine to her about being thrown out later.

Marcus looked over at Haruhi and chuckled before looking back at the screen.

Haruhi looked at him. "What?" she whispered. "What's wrong?"

"Your eyes seem to get wider at every action scene," he whispered back.

"I like em," Haruhi admitted. "I enjoy these types of movies...i've seen Black Panther 7 times."

"I got the uncut version of it back at my house."

"Oh awesome!" Haruhi squealed. "I'd love to see it again...Killmonger's kind of hot."

"So he's your type?"

"What can i say? I think guys with braids are attractive." Haruhi admitted.

Marcus raised an eyebrow and laughed softly. "I'll have to remember that if I ever take my braids out."

"Oh uh...I didn't mean…"

"Hey girlpool and wannabe Killmonger shut up." a guy said from behind them. "I'm trying to enjoy the movie."

Marcus turned around and stood up to his full height. "You got a problem?" he asked with a glare and a snarl.

"Uh…" The guy got up and moved.

"What I thought." Marcus sat back down and offered his popcorn to Haruhi.

"Thanks." Haruhi said. "You sure scared him….hey after this you want to hit up McDonalds?"

"Yeah, I'm sure the Chupacabra is gonna be hungry again."

Haruhi nodded. "Hopefully she's not wrecking things outside." she said quietly.

"She's not. She's waitin' by the car." Marcus held his phone up to show Haruhi the text before he went back to watching the movie.

* * *

"That ending sucked," Haruhi grumbled walking with Marcus. "What a way to cheapen a death...predictable movie...At least in Black Panther Killmonger stayed dead...or in Infinity War everyone died...but nooo they brought Deadpool and his girlfriend back...fuck Cable!"

Marcus stared at Haruhi for a moment before laughing as he walked her to the car.

"What? It's true...and I did not appreciate them making Negasonic Teenage Warhead a secondary character." Haruhi said. "I dressed up as her for Halloween a few years ago!"

"You dress up for Halloween?"

"Uh yeah, when you have rich friends that live in a rich neighborhood you know they give out full bars." Haruhi said. "That's the only time those rich bastards come in handy."

Marcus laughed softly. "Well I hope you use me for somethin' other than candy."

"Oh, you're my friend." Haruhi said. "If I need a T'challa to protect this year for Halloween I'll ring you up...I was planning on dressing up as one of the guard chicks from the movies. I even plan on making a spear to carry around."

"Alright Okoye." Marcus walked up to the car to see his sister sitting in front of it. "Ready? We're goin' to McDonalds."

"Finally! Feed me!" China puffed her cheeks out as she walked to the passenger's side.

"It's ok Birb-chan." Haruhi reached into her bag and pulled out a box of candy she had saved for later. "Have some sugar stars. They're endorsed by your cousin."

"Nah, no candy." China grumbled before getting in. "Did you two have fun on your date?"

"It wasn't a date...uh...I don't think." Haruhi said blushing as she got into the car. "Marcus and I just watched the movie with a bad ending...fuck Cable!"

Marcus shook his head and laughed. "I wouldn't call it a date. I didn't kiss her."

"And we only shared some popcorn," Haruhi added. "And nachos...and candy...and oh one of those huge slushy things."

"Gluttons." China snickered.

"What? It was good and we're going to grab a post movie, dinner snack." Haruhi said brightly. "4 mega macs, 10 McNuggets, 5 fries and 3 apple pies...and if the ice cream machine is working maybe 5 McFlurries."

"The only thing that might make it a date is that I know her type now."

"Shh!" Haruhi said. 'Don't make me find an infinity gauntlet and snap my fingers."

"Like you could even lift one."

"I could lift one and then you'd disappear." Haruhi said. "I'd spare Birb-chan because her butt is soft looking."

"It's very soft. So is Crawdad's chest. Babies love it."

Haruhi smiled. "Soft huh?" she asked. "Well guess I'll need to try it out sometime...maybe toss a baby on him."

"Just watch Toot cuddle him."

"Oh that's right…" Haruhi smiled. "Baby Toot! We have to pick him up a happy meal, I'm sure we can give him the toy and eat the food."

"We'll play with him when we drop you off. You stayin' with Unc the whole week?" Marcus asked.

"No just tonight." Haruhi said. "My dad will be home tomorrow and it's our rupaul's drag race night."

"Want a ride home?"

"Don't you got football practice after school tomorrow?"

"Shit, I do."

'I can take the train, it's not a big deal and i can stop at the cafe in school to grab a winter berry pudding."

"Hey, have you ever tried white rose tea?" China asked.

"Yep they serve it in the host club all the time."

"You should try our special homemade blend."

"Bring some by to Music Room 3 tomorrow." Haruhi said. "I can ask my friend Kaoru to brew some since tomorrow is French food day."

"No, no, you need an infuser for this." China said. "Gets it richer than regular brewing."

"Ok bring it by tomorrow." Haruhi said with a smile. "I can try it before the club starts...though it may start late tomorrow since senpai and Sally have band practice."

"Oh well you can spend time with the big ol' bear."

"Pic kee toi."

Haruhi blinked in confusion before hearing her phone chime. She looked down at it and saw a group chat going on. "The hell do they want?" she accidentally turned on the voice chat.

"That Cardi B bitch sat on me!" Hikaru shouted in fury. "She better be lucky I can't hit girls!"

"You can't even hit yo' dick to jerk it jackass!" China shouted.

"You little bitch!" Hikaru screamed. "Why the hell do you have Haruhi's phone!? Did you steal it from her?! You little brat! Give it back!"

"We're in the car with her and you disrespect my sister again she's gonna be the last of your problems." Marcus said with a deep growl.

"Why you-Kaoru give me my phone!"

"Sorry!" Kaoru said. "My brother is a jackass, don't beat him up, he needs to stay alive long enough for the band competition."

"He says one more thing that I hear he's gonna be found upstream."

Haruhi could see Marcus' eyes narrow in the rear view mirror, his light hearted demeanor gone in that instance.

"He'll be good." kaoru promised.

"The dummy shouldn't have picked a fight." Tamaki cried. "And now we're banned from the theater."

"That was your fault idiot." came voice that sounded bored. "You whined about buying the theater."

"Dumbasses." Marcus growled as they turned the corner.

"Haruhi-dear, you're in a car with strangers?"

"They're friends and my godfather's nephew and niece." Haruhi explained. "They're nice people."

"Your godfather?!" Tamaki cried. "You mean that scary old guy was your godfather?!"

"Unc's forty."

"But...your godfather lives in that scary house down the street!" Tamaki cried. "There is a legend that there is a ghost girl that lives there...I've heard singing during the summer! It's haunted!"

'Senpai...that's his daughter." Haruhi grumbled. "And the Sakurai home isn't haunted."

"Sakurai!?" a voice cried. "Haruhi I had no idea you knew of them...I do hope that you stay safe. After all you do have a debt to pay."

"Rich bastards." Haruhi grumbled in annoyance. "Can you guys call me back later? I want to enjoy the rest of my night with my new friends...well actually Birb-chan's my favoritie pet."

"Birb-chan?" Hikaru began laughing. "She does look like the red angry bird!"

"Yeah well I'mma blow up yo spot tomorrow bitch ass ginger!"

Haruhi ended the call before Hikaru could retort back. Shaking her head she groaned quietly. "Sorry about him Birb-chan….he's a jerk sometimes….I don't know if he does it on purpose or likes to hear himself talk."

"Next time he does that he's gonna end up hangin' from a flagpole." Marcus said as he turned into the drive thru.

Haruhi blinked a few times. "We're not going in?" she asked. "Dude! You really don't know how to Micky D it."

"Nah. I wanna get back to Tarou before he goes down for the night." Marcus laughed.

"Big ass teddy bear."

"Want me to beat you with the foam bat again?"

"No. Jackass."

Haruhi laughed. "So you want to go back to take care of your cousin?" she asked. "That's cute but I think since he's a newborn he'll be asleep by the time we get back. Babies do sleep a lot."

"Not Sakurai babies."

"It's almost impossible to put us to sleep for long."

"'Sides," Marcus said. "Babies sleep a lot but not for as long as you think. They sleep in bursts for about two hours or so before they're up again. Why do you think they wake up a lot throughout the night?"

"I just assumed they were being evil…" Haruhi shook her head. "But fine we can eat inside next time."

"You know you wanna play with Toot too." China snickered as she looked over at Haruhi.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Haruhi said innocently.

"Uh-huh. All I know is that I got my phone ready for you two, cause I know y'all gonna be fightin' over him.'

"I won't fight, I'm not a child." Haruhi said simply. "I'll play for three hours then I'll do my homework."

"Oh yeah!" China nudged Marcus. "Crawdaaaad, I wanna stop by the hair store."

"Ain't you got enough hair supplies?"

"I need a converter for my hair dryer."

"Fine." Marcus rolled his eyes and ruffled her hair.

"Why not just get another?" Haruhi asked. "Or you could have mine."

"What's the point of buyin' another when I have one that works perfectly fine?" China asked. "I just need a converter."

Haruhi nodded. "So you're passionate about hairstyling?" she asked. "At Ouran there is a guy in Class 1-B who has a secret salon that operates out of his dorm room….then again Sergei tends to hide a lot from everyone."

"I do hair and make wigs. If you ever want that crop tamed I can make it happen." China smiled. She pointed to Marcus's braids. "I did those before we left NoLa."

"I'll keep that in mind and you did? That's impressive." Haruhi laughed. "You should hang out with Sergei though...he needs another stylist since my friend Kaoru chose to be a chef instead. I'm surprised you guys haven't paid attention to the social media page our school has. It has a directory of a lot of people who use their talents for productive means and also who to avoid...like the animal rights club are a crazy bunch."

"Why the fuck would we do that? We don't plan on fuckin' with a lot of people there." China said with a shrug. "No time for snooty assholes. Especially pampered pooch kids."

"Not everyone's bad." Haruhi said. "A lot of kids there aren't pampered pooch kids, they're rather nice and normal...and I hope you guys don't hide in the closet like other transfer students."

"This is a no R. Kelly zone here."

"Maybe you guys could pull them out?" Haruhi asked. "They started some club up called New Wakanda and they basically hold meetings about actually turning a classroom into their own little copy of Shuri's lab….just without Vibranium...I dunno...but they tend to keep to themselves since apparently some blonde idiot scared them so badly that they decided not to deal with him...wonder who that kid was."

"Probably the same fuck that knocked over my Harley."

"You ran into him?" Haruhi asked. "Oh man who is it? Maybe I can ask my friends to look into his records and have him deported."

"It's your scrawny blond friend. The Chairman's kid."

"Senpai!?" Haruhi cried. "Dude...seriously?! Oh man...I should've guessed...but then again it's hard to think he would since he is a chocolate chaser."

"Anyways Haruhi, thanks for the suggestions but we wanna navigate the school on our own for the most part. If we got any questions we'll ask you."

"We need your number first." China grinned.

Haruhi nodded. "Ok," she said as she proceeded to tell them her phone number. "Oh and if you guys ever want to have lunch with me please let me know, I can sneak away from my friends on Tuesdays only since senpai eats lunch on the roof with Sally-chan."

"Sounds fine." Marcus said as he drove up to the order window.

* * *

After leaving their uncle's house, China looked at Marcus with a small smirk.

"What?" he asked with a small sigh.

"You like the tanuki girl don't you?"

"I just met her ass, the fuck you mean? As a friend? Sure."

"Uh-huh. Alright then." China leaned back in the seat as she watched their new neighborhood roll by. "So, we meetin' up for lunch tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'll drop by your class to get ya. Too bad we can't go off campus for lunch."

"Well we could, we'd just have to sneak off." China snickered.

"Uh-huh, no fightin'."

"No promises. I need to find the Kasanoda kid too."

"Ain't he in your class?"

"Fuck if I know. I ain't look at the roster, did you?"

"Glanced at it." Marcus shrugged with a small sigh. "Tomorrow's gonna be hell."

"It might be fun. Ready to be the main attraction?"

"Ain't we always?"


	5. First Day Hijinx

**Chapter 5: First Day Hijinx**

Haruhi blinked at the sound of a car engine revving outside of the main gate of Ichiro Sakurai's compound. She then looked at her phone and realized that it was only seven.

"Early risers?" she asked as she opened the door.

The same black 1980s Charger sat in the driveway with Marcus dressed in the summer uniform leaning against it. He was busy pulling his braids back into a ponytail before he looked in her direction and waved.

"Ready?" he called as he stood up straighter.

"Yeah," Haruhi said though she walked up to him and fixed his tie for him. "You didn't knot this right."

"I had it how I wanted it." He smiled down at her as he loosened the tie again as well as loosening the top button of his shirt. "Get your stuff."

"I got it." Haruhi held up both bags and smiled. "By the way, your aunt's cooking is the best….though I didn't know she got up early to cook breakfast for everyone that lives in this place."

"Yeah. She makes sure all the men are fed three times a day." Marcus said as he opened the back door for Haruhi. "It's about a hundred mouths she feeds in the main house. The men in the other houses are pretty much on their own."

"So, she's basically the house mom?" Haruhi asked.

"Kinda. She goes out and does other shit too."

"Did Aunty make her famous chocolate chip pancakes for you?" China asked as Haruhi got in.

"Yeah," Haruhi said with a smile. "And she made a lot of bacon too."

"Of course she cooks bacon when Unc's gone." Marcus laughed as he got behind the wheel and began backing out of the driveway.

"Why?"

"She puts him on diets a lot."

"Oh…"

"So Crawdad, you know how to get there?"

"We got a seein' eye tanuki in the backseat."

"If you give me your phone I can put it in the GPS," Haruhi said. "I don't know how to get to school from this side of town to be honest….and when I take the train I usually don't pay attention to the route."

"Here." China gave her phone to Haruhi.

Haruhi took China's phone and put the address to Ouran Academy in it before starting the GPS. "There it should be easier now."

"Thanks." China took her phone back and leaned back in her seat. She blinked and turned the radio up before pulling her hand back when Marcus hit it. "Hey!"

"Don't you know better than to touch a nigga's radio?"'

Haruhi laughed. "You know it is morning and a lot of radio shows do play a lot of great music in the morning," she said with a small smile. "I mean on one of our stations that play international music...uh...a certain cousin of yours is doing an interview."

"Crawdad doesn't listen to certain music in the mornin'." China scrunched her face at the sound of jazz music playing. "Old man."

"Seriously…"

"Shut up."

"I mean you could at least play that fake track you recorded. Somethin' with some lyrics."

"Fake track?"

"Bun-Buns didn't wanna go in the studio one day so he went with her."

"Oh? Really?" Haruhi asked. "And he recorded a fake track with her? Does it sound like some of her songs she does now? Or is it just Marcus singing on his own?"

"It's him on his own."

"Oh! I'd love to hear it." Haruhi said. "Unless it's not as good as he thinks it is and he doesn't want to show me in fear of being embarrassed."

Marcus rolled his eyes and turned from the radio to the installed Bluetooth player. China grinned and pulled the song up on her phone. Soon a deep voice accompanied by a piano filled the car.

Haruhi listened quietly as a visible blush appeared on her face. She had to admit the way his voice sounded and the melody of the song touched her heart in some way. She gave a soft sigh and felt as though she wanted to whisper his name.

When the song ended, China was heard laughing.

"I don't know why you wanna act all lowkey and coy Crawdad."

"Cause it's not that big of a deal."

"Not a big deal?" Haruhi asked. "You're really talented! You sounded amazing!"

"You think so?"

"Yeah!" Haruhi said. "Your voice touched my heart and soul. You would do well to be a famous singer too."

"That's too much drama."

"Like your current future career ain't?"

"All careers have drama," Haruhi said as she pulled out her phone and looked at the message she got. Her eyes widened and she looked up. "Hey, can we swing by the store that's near the school? I need to grab uh…something."

"Sure," Marcus said as he took a left.

Haruhi smiled brightly as she kept reading over the message she had gotten. "So um….when we get to school you guys will need to go to the main office to get your IDs."

"Aight."

"It won't be a hassle since not many new students are coming in," Haruhi said waving a hand. "It's the middle of the year so everyone should have their IDs by now….and oh! I heard that 3rd years can leave campus for lunch…"

"Hell yeah."

"No fair!" China whined.

"But why would you when most people order in and have it delivered?" Haruhi asked. "Or some people go to Kaoru and ask him to cook for them."

"Nah, I like to cook my own meals."

"Picky…" Haruhi snorted. "You have to try his food though, it's really good and he cooks for us a lot since he's particular about ensuring we don't die."

"Eh maybe, maybe not."

"Picky." China cackled as the car pulled into a parking lot.

"Go on in and get what you need."'

Haruhi smiled as she got out of the car and ran into the store. She glanced at her phone at the message and prayed the store had it. When she came out a few minutes later she got back into the car and nodded to Marcus. "Ok, we can go."

"What did you get?" China asked.

"Strawberry sugar candies," Haruhi explained. "I need at least four more stickers to get your cousin's latest poster."

Marcus snickered. "You know you could just ask us to get you one."

"Yeah, we get all of her shit three months before it hits the shelves."

"I don't want to ask you guys to do that," Haruhi said. "I rather get it like normal people."

"Too bad. We even get VIP tickets to events."

"VIP…"

"Backstage access."

"Skyboxes."

"Private Screenings."

"Oh my god...seriously?!" Haruhi said. "That's awesome...ok I have to ask, you guys lived in America right? What is...what was it Marcus said? What is NoLa?"

"That's New Orleans, Louisiana."

"Oh...so you guys call it NoLa?" Haruhi asked. "I've never heard anyone refer to it as that."

"Everyone that lives there does."

"Ah...hey is it true that when it rains coffins come out of the ground?" Haruhi asked. "I've read in books that they do."

"No, only when it floods." Marcus and China laughed.

"So during floods huh…" Haruhi went silent then asked. "Um...did you guys have to deal with that hurricane that happened there?"

"Yeah, we were without power and water for a while but our district didn't get hit as bad as some of the others."

Haruhi nodded. "I see," she said. "It must've been hard to go through that."

"Yeah, but after the hurricane passed Granmere had us helpin' out at the hurricane and homeless shelters."

"That's sweet of you guys, you're not like my friends...they'd probably turn it into a field trip of learning the wisdom of a commoner."

"That's cause their families been rich from the get," Marcus said.

"Mmn...it's still rude," Haruhi sighed. "It's like they've never been around people who are middle class...I mean I'm not poor...but they tend to fawn over the fact that I don't have money to burn...ugh Tamaki-senpai's the worst of them all."

"Well from what it sounds like they treat it like a delicacy because they've never lived it," China said. "Our granmere was far from rich and by the time daddy got his own business established me and Crawdad were in middle school. We grew up with common sense and not privilege. When you live without money then you know it's nothin' special about it."

"You guys will probably be the only normal rich kids there then," Haruhi said in relief. "I'm actually glad."

"Eh, sounds like we're gonna be fightin' a lot then." Marcus gave a sigh as he turned into the school's lot.

As they drove up, they could see many of the students stop walking to stare at them. Some of them locked eyes with Marcus, some with China, and some with Haruhi before the car pulled off with a loud, resonating roar of life from its engine. The car screeched to a halt when Tamaki, one of the gingers and a couple of girls walked in its path.

Marcus gave an annoyed curse and honked as loud and long as the car could.

"Ugh damn senpai…" Haruhi watched her friends go to the main doors. "I'm guessing the others must've gotten here early for their clubs."

"Fuckin' idiots don't know how to cross the goddamn road." Marcus cursed under his breath as he went towards the garage of the auto club.

Haruhi shook her head and finally got out of the car, she yawned and stretched before blinking. "Oh, come on we can go inside this way…it's quicker to beat the other students if we go inside and no fuss."

"Fine." Marcus sighed as he locked the doors and put his keys in his pocket.

"Yo Crawdad, you sure you ain't gonna get ratted on for havin' your tats exposed?"

"You can see em?"

"Hell yeah, nigga you ain't invisible. The top of the head of the dragon and the bottom of the cross are peekin' out."

"Chairman said it was okay. They got a problem they can suck my dick."

"Your famous last words."

Haruhi laughed before blinking as she heard music playing in the garage. She snorted and walked over to where a faded yellow car was parked. She tapped the hood a few times when she saw a pair of feet under it. "Mori-senpai! Is that you?"

"It's the tree man!" China walked over and pulled him out by his feet before sitting on his chest. "Tree man!"

Mori looked up at China and smiled. "Good morning," he said as he sat up and moved her off of him so not to get oil on her clothes.

"Mori-senpai's working on a 1972 vintage car," Haruhi explained. "It's supposed to be his when he gets his license."

"Mustang right?" Marcus asked as he walked around the car. "You gonna fix that cracked muffler next, right?"

"Yeah." Mori stood up and went to the radio that was sitting on the table and turned it off. "I've been working on this car since the start of the year, on and off during the mornings."

"Mori-senpai's usually busy during the afternoon," Haruhi explained again. "He's the kendo champion and also in the judo club...and a member of the host club."

"Exposition much?" China snorted and poked Mori. "Tree Man."

Mori laughed. "Angry Birb," he said before he took off his coveralls and tossed them on the table. He fixed his tie and grabbed his vest, a small figure that resembled a tree fell off of it.

"Baby Groot!" China giggled as she picked it up. "Aww! Say it!"

Mori looked at her and smirked. "I am….going to be late for class," he said laughing.

"Oh fuck you with your Papi Boulevardez ass laugh!"

"Haruhi."

"Right right, I'll meet you guys after school," Haruhi said shaking her head before looking up at the sound of yawning. "The hell?"

"Takashi, are you done yet?" Honey asked as he poked his head out of the stack of tires he'd been sleeping in. "Wah! It's the pretty girl and the big tall boy!"

"The Baby Boy!" China picked up Honey and cuddled him. "Tree man left."

"Oh…" Honey cuddled China. "He probably went to go find Muireann, that's his girlfriend."

"Oh. Cool."

"Chupacabra."

"Can't I take him to class?" China pouted as she cuddled Honey more.

Honey giggled. "I have to go to class too!" he said cuddling her. "I'm in class 3-A with Takashi, I can't leave him."

"Marcus isn't that your class?" Haruhi asked. "You can walk to class with Honey-senpai then."

"Shit it is." Marcus shook his head. He took Honey from China and tucked him under his arm like a football. "Let's go."

Honey giggled. "Ok!" he said. "Bye Squishy-chan!"

"Squishy?"

"You're soft and warm like marshmallow cake," Honey said brightly. "And you smell like lemon cake! So you're Squishy-chan now."

Haruhi rolled her eyes. "Evil loli." she looked at China. "Come on Birb-chan, let's get going, I'll show you to the shoe lockers."

"I'm not a birb!"'

"You're a cute birb," Haruhi said with a laugh as she reached up to pat China's head gently.

* * *

Marcus grumbled softly as he sat down at his desk. He could feel the eyes of the other students on him and he could see the others that passed by the room stop to peek inside. He looked up at them, locking gazes with a couple only to have them gasp and run away.

 _Pampered ass rich kids_ , he thought with a scowl, unintentionally playing with the chain around his neck. He looked up when he heard someone clear their throat. He raised an eyebrow when he saw that it was two girls.

"Can I help you?"

"Um...are you a son of a rap star?"

"That's wrong to say Rie….he might be a son of a basketball player." the other girl said blushing. "Um...we saw you walk in with Honey-senpai….are you two friends?"

"No and no., Marcus said as he leaned back in his seat, his arm draping over the back as he looked up at them with a small smile. "I met him one or twice, he likes my sister more than me. Who're you two?"

"I'm Rie."

"My name's Kozue."

The girls' began squealing in unison before they let out small squeaks and ran off when they saw Mori sit down next to Marcus.

"Begone thots." Mori said waving a hand.

"Now why'd you do that? They make condoms for a reason." Marcus snorted.

Mori shook his head. "They always go for our kind." he said. "They think we're like people in rap videos...and they're dating two guys from the basketball team."

"What's a thot?" Honey asked innocently.

"What Marcus is when he's not on the street corner." Mori smirked at Honey. "He's my he-bitch, so he has to walk the stroll for me tonight."

"Nah. That's your mom since she's on her knees all the time." Marcus looked at Mori. "The fuck you mean _our_ kind?"

Mori playfully glared at him before continuing. "You know...being exotic type." he said trying to phrase it nicer.

"Ohhh you mean niggas. Well part-niggas."

"Yeah, they'll stop staring once they see you all day." Mori said simply. "Our class hasn't had a new transfer student since that kid from Italy."

"Takashi didn't you make him run away when you saw him flirt with Muireann?" Honey asked curiously.

"No comment." Mori said. "Anyway Marcus, you should be fine and if you need help you can always ask me or Mitsukuni, we both know our way around this insane school."

"And we always leave campus for lunch if we don't want to be bugged." Honey giggled. "We're going to get tacos from a truck today right Takashi?"

Mori shook his head. "You can," he said. "I'm working on my car….Marcus, you want to help me?"

"Sure. I brought my own lunch today." Marcus waved a hand.

"He has a tattoo!" a girl squealed softly as she walked by their desks.

"That's so cool!"

"He's a bad boy!"

"Eeek so hot!"

"Begone Thots!" Mori shouted again as he pulled a spray bottle out of his bag and sprayed it at the girls. "You're going to need this more than me." he handed the bottle to Marucs. "And the school's tailor is on the first floor."

Honey giggled. "Mark-chan's not gonna get attacked!"

"He may."

Marcus snorted and laughed.

The door to the classroom opened as their teacher walked into the room. She sat down at her desk before looking around the room. "Did our new student Sakurai Marcus make it to class on time today?"

"He's right here!" Mori called with a laugh.

"Ah, I see you've already made him feel at home." The teacher said with a smile. "Good boy Takashi."

Mori smiled. "He's my friend." he said. "And I volunteer to show him around for his tour today."

"Alright." The teacher said. "Go on and do that. You two are excused from classes."

Mori stood up and grabbed Marcus by the back of his shirt pulling him out of the room. "Come on, I'll give you a tour."

"Careful, you gonna rip it off me!"

"Do it Mori-senpai!"

Mori ignored the girls and continued pulling Marcus out of the room. Once they were out in the hallway he looked at him. "Come on, we'll go get Haruhi."

"The hell? Almost ripped my fuckin' shirt." Marcus grumbled.

"You wanted to avoid being attacked by those girls right?" Mori asked. "They wouldn't have let you leave without your clothes on."

"I walk around near naked anyway." Marcus sighed as he fixed his shirt.

"It's dangerous to do it around here, the girls here are insane about any good looking guy….they feed on looks like sharks."

Marcus rolled his eyes and stretched as he followed Mori.

"You want a tour or do you want to goof off?" Mori asked. "I'm good to do both. We can go back to the garage, I have some vegan snacks in my bag or we can go mess with my friends."

"Ya'll got a gym?"

"It's across campus." Mori said. "I'll show you once we grab Haruhi."

"Fully furnished?"

"Yeah."

* * *

Haruhi sighed heavily as she sat in class, she looked at the door and nearly fell out of her chair when she saw Mori outside the door making faces at her. "Go away," she whispered waving a hand.

Mori continued making faces before he grabbed Marcus and began wrestling him to the floor. Haruhi saw them return with Marcus standing with Mori on his shoulders.

"The fuck…" Haruhi whispered. "Go away! YOU TWO IDIOTS!"

"Fujioka outside now!" the teacher shouted.

Haruhi sighed as she got up and walked out of the room. She glared at the two boys. "You assholes got me kicked out of class."

"Now you can give me a tour tanuki." Marcus grinned.

"I was in class," Haruhi grumbled. "And I see you and Mori-senpai are best friends now...you know you Sakurai are liabilities? I had to pull Birb-chan off Hikaru this morning."

"Oh him, where his ass at?"

"He's in there." Haruhi pointed to where Hikaru was sitting. "You can't beat him up...he got beat by a girl and that's shame enough."

"That girl took MMA lessons when she was fourteen," Marcus said as he knocked on the door to the classroom.

The teacher walked to the door and opened it, she looked at Marcus a moment. "Can I help you young man?" she asked. "Are you dropping something off for a teacher?"

"I need to see Hikaru Hitachiin outside for a moment."

"Oh? Ok, Hitachiin-kun you have a visitor!" the teacher said.

Hikaru blinked. "What?" he stood up and walked outside. He shut the door and then looked at Marcus. "Do I know you?"

Marcus pulled Hikaru out of the view of the teacher and slammed him against the wall. "No, but you know my sister."

"Your sister?" Hikaru blinked and thought for a moment. "Oh, you mean the girl with the huge ass? Yeah, I know her...she's kind of cute...if she stops being loud and attacking me."

Marcus narrowed his eyes and punched him hard in his stomach. When he doubled over, he pulled up by the back of his head. "You get attacked cause you don't know how to talk to girls. I hear about you disrespectin' her again you'll be floatin' up river by mornin'. Got it?"

Hikaru glared at Marcus but nodded. "Got it…" he said wheezing in pain.

Marcus let him go and punched him again. "We can go now."

"Wow you knocked the wind out of him," Haruhi said as she looked at Marcus when they left Hikaru. "He probably won't recover from that until after school."

"That was a tap." Marcus said as he waved his hand.

"That wasn't a tap that was a hate crime." Mori joked.

Marcus snickered. "I'l knock him out next time if you really want me to."

"Nah he needs to live," Haruhi said. "So where are we going?"

"To hang out," Mori said simply. "We're going to spend all day showing Marcus around."

"Oh…" Haruhi rolled her eyes. "Fine, come on I'll explain about each classroom and hopefully you won't be bored."

"You don't skip much do you?"

"Never have in my life until today," Haruhi grumbled. "I like going to class."

"I do too, but skippin' lets you breathe for a bit." Marcus shrugged. "And I hate bein' stared at like a zoo attraction."

"So you've seen the girls here?" Haruhi asked. "Mori-senpai! Why didn't you share your thot be gone with him?"

"I did."

"Well, it must've didn't work!" Haruhi groaned. "Anyway, you won't be stared at if you are with us. We scare em off."

"Haruhi's a tough little tanuki." Mori snorted.

"Obviously." Marcus laughed.

"And there is one more thing," Mori stopped outside a classroom and looked inside. He smirked and knocked on the door a few times before whispering quietly when he saw China look over at the door. "I am Groot."

"Jackassssssss!"

"Chinatsu Sakurai sit down!" the teacher said.

"Oh fuckin' bite me you wonder bra wearin' thot pocket!"

"Detention!" The teacher shouted in anger.

"Gladly! Oh, and your tampon string is showin'!" China grabbed her things and walked out of the room as she flipped the teacher off.

"Your sister is pretty rude," Haruhi said with a small laugh.

"She speaks her mind." Marcus laughed and looked at his watch. "Y'all got a cafe?"

"Yeah, its a cafe down on the first floor." Haruhi said. "But it's normally closed during classes...unless it's a day when some of the third years decide to keep it open longer."

"Damn I'm hungry."

"Come on I know a place where we can get some food." Haruhi said. "Birb-chan come on. There's a promise of cake."

"Cake!" China hopped on Mori's back. "Come on Groot!"

Mori rolled his eyes. "Birb."

* * *

"I hope you guys like cake." Haruhi walked into the room carrying a huge chocolate cake. "This was the only one that I could find. I guess Kaoru locked the freezer."

"Hell yeah!" China grinned. "So Crawdad what's your class like?"

"Thot central."

"You'll get used to it." Haruhi sat the cake down before going to make some tea. "The girls here are weird...but you'll be fine."

"So I been meanin' to ask." Marcus looked at Haruhi. "What's with the crossdressin'?"

"Oh ,that?" Haruhi asked. "It was the fault of the administration and my own. When I first started here I couldn't afford the uniform so I wore my dad's old clothes, my grandfather's old glasses and my hair was cut short because some kid put gum in my hair the day before school. When I met my friends they all assumed I was a boy and I just never corrected them about since sex doesn't matter. I'm glad I can be a boy to be honest...I can hang out with guys more since girls get catty."

"So you looked like an androgynous hobo?"

Haruhi glared. "No...I just looked like a normal person not a rich kid."

"Normal people look like they at least care a little about their appearance." China pointed out.

"I wasn't dressing to impress anyone." Haruhi shrugged. "I'm here to go to school not impress anyone with what I wear."

"And not get any action either." China cackled. "That's fine but ain't it lonely focusin' on books all the damn time?"

"Not really." Haruhi blinked. "Marcus get away from there! Those are the lockers for my friends!"

Marcus ignored Haruhi as he opened a locker.

Inside the locker were various hair products, a box of ramen and a picture of the landscape of France. On the top shelf was a pair of platform shoes.

"Metro?"

"Nah, Young Metro don't trust him." China snickered.

"That's Tamaki-senpai's locker." Haruhi said. "And those shoes are the ones he wear whenever he and Sally go out dancing at some disco club in town….Marcus wait don't break into that locker next to-ugh nevermind."

"The fuck?!"

"Oh God a stalker shrine. I need to tell Unc."

"That's Kyouya-senpai's locker." Haruhi groaned as she shook her head. "I can see why he doesn't let anyone see inside of it."

Mori snorted and walked over to Marcus as he picked up a photo book and looked through it. "Oh...a swimsuit edition."

"What class is he in?"

"Crawdad we'll just tell Unc and he'll get some men to pick him up."

"He's in Class 2-A by the way," Mori said snickering as he pried open the next locker that had chef uniforms and snacks in it. He grabbed a few snack cakes and tossed them to China. "Birb."

China caught them and began eating them. "Mm...mmph!" She coughed and spit them out before gasping.

"You ok?" Haruhi asked. "Oh wow...Mori-senpai those aren't for people! Those are animals! You grabbed the wrong ones!"

Marcus ran over to China and pulled out an EpiPen when he saw her begin to choke. He stuck it in China's thigh and watched as she started to calm slightly.

"Is she ok?" Haruhi asked. "I'll call for an ambulance."

"Read the wrappers. They got peanut products in 'em?"

Mori picked up a wrapper and looked at it. "Yeah," he said. "Sorry."

Marcus sighed. "It's fine, you ain't know."

"The ambulance will be here in a few minutes," Haruhi said. "China-chan don't die on us ok?"

China wheezed and coughed. Marcus laid her back on the couch and propped her head up with a few pillows.

* * *

"I'm so sorry again," Mori said once they had gotten to the hospital. "I'll make sure not to feed her again."

"Birb-chan will be ok…" Haruhi said with a small smile. "And who knows she'll probably be up and around in no time."

"You're good. We're both allergic to peanuts and I got asthma for future reference." Marcus said as he leaned back in his chair.

"You have asthma?" Haruhi asked. "That sucks...wait how can you play football if you have that?"

"Easy. The runnin' and tacklin' ain't what exacerbates it."

"Oh...ok?" Haruhi went silent as she looked up at him with a small sigh before looking back down at the floor.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh just worried about Birb-chan." Haruhi said. "I mean I know how allergies can be."

"She'll be fine after a little rest. She's a tough Chupacabra." Marcus patted Haruhi on the head.

"Ok…" Haruhi said softly. "Some first day huh?"

"Eh, we had worst. Our last school someone tried to shoot us over lunch money." Marcus shrugged.

"WHAT?!" Haruhi cried. "Why would someone do that? Over money?!"

"He's kidding." Mori said looking at Marcus.

"Nah, I'm serious." Marcus shrugged. "The ninth ward is pretty fuckin' horrible sometimes but Granmere wanted us to go to school there for groundin'."

"Why would she send you there for grounding?" Haruhi asked. "That's horrible! You guys could've died."

"No not groundin' like punishment. Groundin like to teach us not to take shit for granted. Someone always has it worse than we do and she wanted us to know that."

"Oh...so your cousin went to a public school like you and China-chan?" Haruhi asked.

"Yeah, until she started gettin' homeschooled cause of her job."

"Ah," Haruhi said. "So are American schools that different from ones here? Do they always seem so rough?"

"Mainly depends on the district but in all honesty wherever you go you got bastards and assholes that wanna take out their frustrations on you." Marcus shrugged.

"But it's still horrible people do that." Haruhi said. "Marcus, you won't have to worry about that here right Mori-senpai? Mori-senpai?" she shook her head. "Ugh ,tall tree must've went to go call the others."

"Goddamnit." Marcus sighed. "And maybe, maybe not. Who I am, my Uncle is, what I look like. That makes me a pretty big ass target no matter where I go."

"It shouldn't have to be that way," Haruhi said. "Looks shouldn't matter and neither should who your family is. You're a good person."

Marcus gave a soft chuckle and looked down at his hands with a softened gaze. Somehow she reminded him a lot of her. "You really think so? I got more bodies than you would think."

"I don't think so," Haruhi said. "I know so. You're a nice person, come on Marcus you need to realize that you're a great person, not just a person to be stared at because of how you look. I can tell you have a good heart."

Marcus shook his head and leaned back in his chair again. "Whatever you say tanuki."

Haruhi looked up as she saw the doors open. "Oh Birb-chan are you ok now?" she asked curiously. "The doctors did a good job helping you."

"Yeah. Can we go home Crawdad? I wanna sleep."

"Yeah sure, come on." Marcus stood and turned to Haruhi. "You goin' back to class or you comin' with us?"

"Back to class." Haruhi said. "I got a test today but I'll visit later."

"Alright, I'll drop you off."

"Thanks." Haruhi said with a small smile.

* * *

"What in the...MARKY! Why are you calling me so...it's 5 in the morning here!"

"You got a weird stalker here in my new school." Marcus said as he sat down. "And the Chupacabra wanted to hear you before she took her nap."

"Oh um...a stalker...and Chi-Chi had a bad day at school? I'm sorry...do you want me to sing to her or do you need to talk to me about something important too Marky?"

"Nah, I'm fine," Marcus smiled softly. "And yeah, she had a pretty bad allergic reaction. Someone accidentally served her peanut filled animal cookies. And your stalker has a shrine to you in his locker. Don't know his name yet."

"Marky having a shrine to me isn't a stalker and Chi-Chi I can hear you whining, I wish I was there to hug you."

"In his locker with all of your photo books and one that has...stains." Marcus shook his head and handed his phone to China.

"Bun-Buns." China whined.

"I know Chi-Chi, I wish I was there with you but I'm in London right now...I got invited to the royal wedding."

"Lucky…" China poured softly. "Crawdad got a new girlfriend."

"She's just a friend now take your animal cracker ass to sleep."

"Marky, be nice and if you have a new girl that's a friend technically she is your girlfriend...ugh I want to cuddle my Chi-Chi!"

"Bun-Bunnnnsss!"

"She's not my girlfriend. I just met her ass yesterday." Marcus stood and headed to the door of China's room. "Don't wear my battery out, I'll be back later."

"Marky, wait a second before you go….can you do me a favor? Tell Uncle Hiso to come get daddy! He's ruining my life!"

"Oh, Unc finally told you?"

"Err...yeah….I mean he yelled at my supposed date for the wedding...told him to stay away from his daughter." Bunny grumbled. "It's not fair! 39 is not too old for me."

"He needs to be in jail. He's only a year or so younger than Unc."

"It wasn't a date date, he was going to escort me…but fine...go now. I need to cheer my Chi-Chi up."

End Chapter


	6. New Host and New Love Blooms?

**Chapter 6: New Host and New Love Blooms?**

"So, no new guy today?" Sally Moore asked as she looked at Haruhi with a small grin. "You've been MIA all week aside from club."

"I've been hanging out with him a lot but he had football practice," Haruhi said. "I did invite Birb-chan to come to visit us though."

"We should go spy on him."

"Sally-dear you just want to see him in that uniform." A tall brunette said with a shake of her head.

"Can't help to look once in a while," Sally rolled her eyes and pouted. "Besides I'm bored sitting around while the guys sip tea and chat with other girls."

"Jealous much?" Haruhi snorted. She looked up and saw the door open. "Birb-chan and...Hey Marcus dude you're visiting today too?"

All of the girls in the room stopped talking to the hosts and looked towards the doors at the Sakurai siblings. They all were silent for a moment before they erupted into squeals and screams.

"It's the hot new boy!"

"Ooh my goodness he's here to visit with Haruhi!"

"That's so moe!"

"Forbidden boys love!"

Marcus rolled his eyes at the screams as he held up his bag. "Got a place I can change?"

"Yeah I'll show you." Haruhi said with a smile as she got up and began leading Marcus to the preparation room. She prayed he didn't hear conversation about his cousin. "You know you'd make a good host."

"Not interested." Marcus said. He sat his bag down and pulled his practice jersey off once they were in the room. Dropping it on the chair, his hands then went to untying the cords to the pants.

"Why not?" Haruhi asked. "If you join...I wouldn't be bored and I need help dealing with the idiot squad."

"Not interested. I got better things to do other than be a ho." Marcus dropped his pants and stepped out of them. He reached over and pulled his after school clothes out. "Fuck, I forgot a shirt."

"Oh sure...call what we're doing being a ho." Haruhi mumbled as she went to a nearby box and pulled out a shirt. She tossed it to him. "Put that on, you should fit it."

Marcus looked at it before he put it on. He blinked when he heard ripping. "You were sayin'?" He took the ripped fabric off and put his pants and a leather jacket on. "I'll just bare it."

"Are you sure?" Haruhi asked. "Why don't you just put your uniform shirt back on? You're going to be exposed to the elements...and horny fangirls."

"The Chupacabra stole it to wear. She got tired of her uniform." Marcus shook his head.

"Ah, well hmm….maybe I can run down to the school's tailor and get you a new shirt?" Haruhi asked. "I really don't want those girls to jump you."

"I'm not about to spend all afternoon here. I'll be fine." Marcus picked his bag up and walked back out of the preparation room after making sure he was dressed for the most part.

"Ah! He's back!"

"Oh my gosh! He's not wearing a shirt!"

"How hot!"

"Get him, girls!"

A bunch of fangirls who were with the hosts jumped up and almost immediately were sprinting towards Marcus while squealing in unison. Marcus stared at them for a moment before holding his hand up.

"Ladies, can we not?" he asked with a small dimpled smile. The charm in his voice accentuated by his thick accent. "Go on back to your friends, I'm fine right here."

"Aww!"

"We want to sit with you!"

"You're so cute!"

"And charming too!"

"Can I designate him?"

"Ah! He must be a host in training!"

All of the girls continued talking in unison and squealing. A few had begun jumping up and down happily at the chance to be with Marcus.

"A host? Ladies I ain't a host."

"Yet." Tamaki stood up and walked over to them. He smiled softly at the girls. "Marcus-san will be around tomorrow as well, we're going to be sure he gives you ladies a chance to get to know him."

"The fuck I am. I got football practice tomorrow."

The girls all screamed in unison at hearing his words about being on the football team.

"Marcus just play along," Haruhi pleaded and then added in a whisper. "If you do I'll keep you supplied in Mega Macs forever."

Marcus gave an annoyed groan and turned to Haruhi. "Mega Macs and those sticky rice buns you had yesterday."

"Ok, I'll make you those every day," Haruhi promised with a small smile.

Marcus rolled his eyes and patted Haruhi on the head. "Tanuki."

Haruhi smiled softly but winced when she heard the girls screaming in unison again at the touching gesture. "Welcome to the host club dude...these girls will be your fans...get used to it."

"As long as I can piss and eat in peace."

"Hey, Crawdad!" China chirped and held up her phone. "Unc!"

"Thanks." He walked over to China and took the phone from her before walking into the preparation room again and closing the door behind him.

Haruhi watched for a moment before shaking her head and going back to the table she'd been sitting at.

"Oi, boss if we have to have a new host then we're going to need to know everything about him," Hikaru said from his place behind the couch China was sitting on. "And if it gives me the chance to mess with Cardi B-chan then I'm fine."

China spun around and kicked Hikaru in the head.

"The name's Chinatsu! Chi-na-tsu! If your one brain cell can't comprehend that then call me China Froggy Fuck Boy!"

"Fine, Chinabi," Hikaru said with a laugh as he walked off. "Oi everyone that girl's name is now Chinabi!"

The hosts looked at Hikaru and moved out of the way when they saw a coffee table fly in his direction.

Hikaru yelped out and dove to the floor. "Oi, don't throw things!" he cried. "Kaoru help me!"

"Calm your tits," Kaoru said rolling his eyes as he walked over to China with a small box of cookies. "Sorry about my idiot brother's attitude, please accept these cookies as a peace offering….they're chocolate chip and in the shape of characters from that one disney movie about the frog princess."

"Ah! You even made Raymond and Evangeline!" China took the cookies and sat down. She made a small chirp as she ate the cookies happily.

"So tell me something Frog Princess-chan," Kaoru began as he sat next to her. "Will you visit me if I make you those cookies everyday? I'll even make you beignets too...I have been wanting to learn how to make food from America."

"I'll visit you. Fuck your brother."

"I'll let you in on a secret." Kaoru leaned down and whispered. "My brother likes girls with your...figure...he just doesn't know how to act around you right now."

"Well he better hop on the magic school bus and figure it out. I ain't got time for games." China grumbled. She looked up at hearing the door open and close. "What did Unc want?"

"When we leave here I'm droppin' you off at the compound then I gotta run an errand for him."

"You need to borrow PK?"

"Nah, got one in the glove compartment. Shouldn't take me too long."

"Ne ne Mark-chan!" Honey ran over to Marcus and jumped into the air for a hug. "Mark-chan! Mark-chan!"

Marcus looked up and caught Honey in one hand. "What's up?"

Honey giggled. "You're going to be a host now! I think that's cool! You can hang out with me and Takashi!"

"And I can draw manga of him." A small voice said from near Marcus's legs. "He's tall."

Marcus looked down at the source of the voice and smiled. He knelt in front of her. "And who are you lil' kitten?"

The girl giggled. "I'm Muireann but call me Mimi!" she said brightly. "I'm Takashi's girlfriend!"

"I prefer Kitt." Marcus smiled. "And so you're the one he has as a wallpaper on his phone."

"Yep! I come here often to visit," Mimi explained. "Me and Mitsukuni are best friends too! We love cake, Usa-chan, Nyan-kun and nice people!" she turned and looked at China. "Ah! Squishy Squish!" she ran and hugged her. "Wah! Soft!"

"Another loli!" China squealed and cuddled Mimi. "Cute loli baby awwwww!"

Mimi smiled brightly. "You're pretty and I like your hair, it's like a marshmallow." She said. "Big sister-chan!"

"Awwwwww!" China squealed and began cooing over the small girl in Creole while cuddling her more.

Marcus shook his head and set Honey down before sitting at the table with Haruhi.

The girls at the table squealed in unison instantly forgetting their conversation with Haruhi.

"So cool!"

"Kyaaaa! He's sitting with us!"

"Hm? Y'all gwan back to your talk." Marcus waved a hand with a lazy dimpled smile.

The girls squealed and went back to talking to Haruhi.

Haruhi laughed quietly as she shook her head. She took note of Marcus looking around the room at the others.

"I always send Mitski-chan gifts on her birthday, it's a simple tradition I've started. I always send a carefully selected white dress and pink roses."

"That's not creepy at all," Marcus said loud enough for the host to hear.

The host looked over at Marcus and pushed his glasses up on his nose. "It's not creepy Marcus-senpai, it's actually called being kind to her. I'm sure as an idol Mitski-chan doesn't get to have any personal gifts from a genuine fan."

"So you think but until you live that life you don't really know do you?" Marcus asked. "Not to mention that you overlook the fact that not only there's more 'genuine fans' than your ass but she also spends her birthdays with her family every year."

"Except that year she spent it doing a concert," the host pointed out as he opened his notebook and began reading off the notes he had taken. "Miss Mitski age 16 years old, height 4'10. She loves rabbits, sweet candies and her favorite hobby is dancing. She spends a lot of her money made from her shows on helping others...and her birthday is June 30th."

"Actually that year after the concert her family came to see her, but go off." Marcus leaned back in his seat. "Yeah no, I was right that is creepy. Between that notebook and your lil' shrine, you're one meltdown away from trackin' her through her social media and snappin' her neck in her sleep. Before or after raidin' her underwear drawer is up to you."

"Marcus-senpai, I'm not a creepy person," the host growled. "Ahem, but I do respect that you care about Mitski-chan's safety...you must be one of her fans as well."

"Fan, family, bodyguard, you choose." Marcus smirked at the host. "What was that? Your attempt at a growl? Feelin' froggy?"

"Marcus," Haruhi began but shook her head. "Geez you made Kyouya-senpai shut up...he's annoyed right now…"

"Don't give a shit. He keeps sendin' my cousin gifts she don't wear and don't wanna wear." Marcus said.

"Crawdad."

"Not gonna say that I know how to keep my mouth shut."

"I thought she wore that one white dress," Haruhi said. "The one with the buttons on both sides...it was super cute." she noticed both siblings growling. "Oh you didn't know?"

"Nah, that dress was from another creep," China grumbled.

"Either way, there's a reason there's a no clothing rule for fans that wanna send her gifts," Marcus said loud enough for Kyouya to hear.

"Wow you broke him," Haruhi noted before laughing. "This is going to be fun with you here."

Marcus looked at Haruhi and raised an eyebrow. "You think? I dunno, if I wanna hang with you I can just whisk you away in my car."

Haruhi laughed softly. "I think so and I wish I could but I have to work off my debt to these guys."

"How much you owe?" As he asked this Haruhi saw his hand reach into his jacket pocket.

"Um, 8,000,000 yen," Haruhi said. "But I can pay it off myself, I don't want any handouts and if I left these idiots on their own they might burn down this room from their antics."

"You sure?" Marcus asked with a small smile.

"Yeah I'm good." Haruhi waved a hand. "I like it here and with you here I may be able to spend time with you a lot more."

"Cute, you like spendin' time with me." He grinned.

"Well, you are sane…"

"Kyaaaa! So moe!"

"Eek Marcus-san and Haruhi-kun are a secret couple!"

"How romantic!"

"A lil' bit of crazy makes life fun. Ain't that right ladies?"

The girls began squealing in unison as the other girl fainted.

"Holy...you killed her!" Haruhi cried in shock.

"Ain't nothin' a lil' CPR can't fix."

"Marcus don't do it!" Haruhi said deciding to play with the girls' emotions. She looked at him with a pout. "Your promised to only do CPR on me."

"I promised to do a lot more than CPR on you chere."

"Marcus…."

"Kyaaaaaaaa!" the girls screamed in unison at the sight.

"Oi! Mr. Steal Yo Girl!" China cackled. "Keep it in your pants over there!"

"Mr. Steal Yo Girl?" Haruhi snorted and stood up as she left the table to go make more tea for the guests. She didn't notice the girls jump over the table and began pulling at Marcus's clothes.

"Strip him!"

"I got a part of his jacket!"

"Eeek I have a lock of his hair!"

"Watch the braids!" Marcus stood up with the girls clinging to him.

"I got his necklace!"

The room went silent when the girls were dropped by Marcus. He reached down and pulled the broken chain from the girl's hand before walking out of the room.

"Marcus?" Haruhi immediately ran after him. "Idiot girls…" she hissed when she ran past them. She managed to catch up to him. "Are you ok?"

"Gotta get a new chain for this." He said softly as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Oh...I'm sorry," Haruhi said. "I shouldn't have left you...hey come on I'll go with you to help you pick a new chain if you want...or...wait I got an idea follow me."

"Nah. I think I'mma go chill and wait for the Chupacabra to get finished in there."

"Marcus wait," Haruhi reached up and unclasped the necklace she was wearing, she took the tanuki charm off of it and then took the cross from Marcus and put it on the chain before smiling. "Here for you."

"You ain't have to do that."

"I wanted to," Haruhi said with a small smile. "This is a symbol of our friendship now, you're...um...my best friend…."

Marcus looked at the chain again before giving Haruhi a soft smile and gently pinching her chin.

"I just wanted to make sure you're happy," Haruhi said softly blushing as she saw him lean closer. "Marcus-kun?"

"Thanks." He placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Let's go, ok?"

"Um...ok…."

Marcus nodded to her as he walked back to the music ran off for a second and came back with her school bag. She sent a small glare at the girls who had jumped Marcus. "I'm going home early."

"But Haruhi what about the…"

"Play with Birb-chan," Haruhi said brightly. "She's super fun and cute too! Come on Marcus, let's go." she grabbed his hand and led him out of the room. For some reason, her face was shining a bright red and her heart seemed to be racing.

"Hey! He's my ride home!" China let Mimi go and grabbed her things before chasing after Haruhi and her brother.

* * *

"Marcus…" Haruhi said quietly as she took a deep breath and looked into the mirror pretending she was talking to him. "Listen dude let's hang out tomorrow after school, we can eat McDonald's for three hours and then go see a movie….ugh! That's dumb! Ok...let's see...Hey dude! How about we grab some McDonalds and then come back here and study? No that's dumb….damn it! Why can't I think of a way to ask him to hang out with me?!" she flopped onto her bed and began growling, when she looked up she saw Marcus staring down at her.

"Great now I'm seeing things!"

"No I'm still here. I just left to piss."

"Crapbaskets…" Haruhi grumbled. "So you heard me…?"

"Yeah. We can go to a movie if you really wanna." He said with a small smile.

"Nah there is nothing I want to see," Haruhi admitted. "How about you come over here and we can um...watch tv? Yeah, there is this awesome drama that comes on every weekend."

"Yo' dad gonna be cool with that? I'm not tryna get shot."

"My dad won't be home during the day," Haruhi shrugged. "And you'll be cool hanging out here with me...though can you come over at 6? I have a thing to do right after school downtown."

"Secret part-time job?" Marcus snickered.

"No...it's just a...um…" Haruhi blushed. "A signing event."

"6? Aight. That gives me enough time to get done with what I gotta do."

"Great." Haruhi smiled brightly. "It'll be fun to hang out with you, um what kind of snacks do you want? Or I can call for delivery...maybe pizza? Or wait how about tacos?"

"I can cook somethin' healthier." Marcus said. "Just gotta get the stuff."

"Ok, hey how about we cook together?" Haruhi suggested. "It's fun to cook for people."

"Sure. You ever have short ribs before?"

"Not really," Haruhi admitted waving a hand.

"Then you're in for a treat." Marcus looked at his watch. "I gotta go handle somethin'. I can either come back here or go home when I get done."

"Go home," Haruhi said with a small smile. "I'll be fine on my own."

"Aight, see ya tomorrow then." Marcus grabbed his jacket and walked out of her room.'

Haruhi watched him with a small smile before groaning. "Why in the world do I feel like I'm going insane around him!?"

* * *

"Has anyone seen Marcus-senpai today?"

"We didn't run him off did we?"

"Maybe we should've apologized to him…"

"He'll come to see us I hope."

"Don't count on it vultures," China said.

"We want to say sorry to him." a girl said with a soft sigh. "We didn't mean to hurt him so much."

China shook her head as she saw Haruhi enter the music room. "You broke the chain of the necklace our Granmere gave him for his sixteenth birthday."

The girls all teared up as they heard her words. A few began to cry about how they hurt him.

Haruhi looked over at them before going to the preparation room to put her things away. Her face was a soft hue of red from the memory of Marcus and her's plans.

"Sweetcheeks, you ok over there?"

"Yeah, I'm fine!" Haruhi called out. "I'm just...tired..yeah that's all!"

"Harrrrrruuuuuuhhhhhiiii!" Tamaki cried running over to her and hugged her tightly. "Are you ok? Did you not sleep well?"

"Senpai go away." Haruhi grumbled.

"Your face is red do you have a fever?"

"I said I'm fine!"

"Yo."

The door opened and closed as Marcus entered the room with a few girls in the room looked over at him and some kept their distance while others stayed silent. Marcus ignored them as he sat down with a small grimace.

Haruhi managed to pry herself from Tamaki and walked over to him. "Are you ok?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a lil' sore."

"Bad day?" Haruhi asked. "There is a couch in the back that you can lie down on in the preparation room."

"Yeah. Y'all got a first aid kit back there too?"

"Yeah, come on I'll show you," Haruhi said. "Follow me."

Marcus stood with a small groan. He followed Haruhi.

"Where are you hurt?" Haruhi asked curiously. "I can help patch you up and then you can lay down over there."

Marcus unbuttoned his shirt revealing to Haruhi the slightly bloodied bandage around his lower stomach.

"How in the hell did that happen?!" Haruhi cried before calming down as she began opening the first aid kit.

"Last night during that errand I had to run," Marcus said simply as he took the bandage off.

"What kind of errand?!" Haruhi asked in shock as she started tending to his wound. "This may sting a little."

"Had to clear up a lil' dispute with this guy that's been buggin' Unc."

"Oh…" Haruhi said quietly and began spraying the wound to disinfect it. "You shouldn't have to do that...you're 18!"

"In a few weeks, I'm gonna be takin' over the business," Marcus said as he watched her.

"What? Seriously?!" Haruhi cried in shock but continued working as she began wrapping the bandage around him. "You could be killed!"

"I'll be fine, it's just a flesh wound." Marcus looked at her, lifting his arms up to help her get around. "You ain't gotta worry 'bout me."

"I rather have someone worry about you," Haruhi said. "What would happen if you died? Your sister and family would be upset."

"Trust me, I'm not gonna die until I'm old, married, and with a football team of kids and grandkids."

Haruhi laughed. "You want eleven kids?" she asked curiously. "You know taking care of that many kids will be hard to do."

"Eh, I'm used to takin' care of kids." Marcus laughed.

"Mmn...I guess." Haruhi looked at him. "But having a big family would be nice...I've grown up as an only child so I never got the chance to know what it's like having a sibling before."

"It's interestin'. Some days we're best friends, other times we wanna kill each other. But at the end of the day I know they got my back." Marcus smiled softly.

"That's sweet," Haruhi said as she finished. She got up and went to go put the first aid kit away. "You know having a football team would be fun...children are cute things."

Marcus laughed softly. "You sound like you wanna have it wit' me."

Haruhi blushed. "What? No no...I mean...uh...if you don't' get married then maybe we can!"

"Alright, sounds like a plan." He smiled as he draped his shirt on his shoulder.

"Oh um…" Haruhi blushed a soft hue of red. "You don't have to humor me."

"Not humorin' you. One thing you should know about me. I don't agree to shit if I don't agree wit' it." He pinched her chin again before walking over to the couch and stretching out.

"You're serious?" Haruhi followed him, she gave a soft groan as she felt her chest start to hurt. She didn't know why he made her feel this way.

"Yeah." He looked up at her as he put his arms behind his head.

"You're a weird person," Haruhi noted quietly before groaning as she walked over to him and stared down at him.

"Yes, tanuki?"

Haruhi stayed silent and leaned down kissing him gently. She felt him freeze for a moment before his hand moved to the back of her head.

Pulling away from him Haruhi's face turned bright red. "Ah I...I...I'm sorry!" she jumped up and ran out of the room.

Marcus sat up and looked at her for a moment before shaking his head. He sighed and stood and walked out of the room.

"Haruhi."

"Sorry I gotta go!" Haruhi ran out of the music room.

"What was that about?" Hikaru asked from behind the couch that China was sitting on. "Oi Chinabi go after her."

China rolled her eyes. "Fuck off, Crawdad got it."

Marcus shook his head as he followed after Haruhi.

* * *

"Why the hell did I kiss him?!" Haruhi cried blushing a crimson red at the idea of kissing Marcus. Her face turned bright red and she continued running as fast as she could to avoid anyone seeing her.

"Tanuki watch out!"

She felt an arm around her waist, pulling her back from the edge of the reflecting pool outside of the school.

"What in the…" Haruhi gasped. "Let me go...please!"

"Dumbass you almost ran into a pool," Marcus said as he sat her down. "Now we gonna talk or you gonna keep runnin' from me?"

"Stay away from me!" Haruhi said glaring at him. "You...you make me feel weird! Leave me alone!"

She saw him roll his eyes with a groan before he pulled her in for another kiss. Haruhi's eyes widened and she hit him on the chest trying to get him to let her go. She finally gave up and returned the kiss.

"Now can we talk?" he asked with a whisper against her lips. "Stubborn assed tanuki."

"Ok…"

"Come on." He grabbed her hand and pulled her with him.

"Where are we going?"

"Somewhere we can talk in private."

"Oh um...ok?" Haruhi said. "But where?"

"The garage. Ain't no one in there now."

"Ok…" Haruhi sighed softly and prayed he wouldn't think she was weird for running away from him after kissing him.

Once they were in the garage, Haruhi saw Marcus walk around the room to check to see if they were alone.

"I'm sorry," Haruhi whispered.

"For what?" he asked as he leaned against the hood of his car.

"I kissed you…" Haruhi whispered. "And then ran away after I did...I don't know why I kissed you."

"No need to be sorry about that." Marcus smiled at her. "You wanted to, that's why you did it."

"No I...ugh I didn't!" Haruhi cried. "I just kissed you because...I don't know…"

"Because you wanted to. It's not as difficult as you makin' it." Marcus stood and walked over to her.

"You probably didn't want me to do it," Haruhi said. "Damn it I hate feeling weird around you!"

"I didn't mind it."

"You're messing with me," Haruhi said. "You should mind it! A strange girl you barely know kissed you!"

"The same girl that's seen me in my underwear how many times now?" Marcus chuckled. "And if I minded I wouldn't have kissed you the second time."

"I...um…" Haruhi sighed heavily.

"It's okay to admit you like me."

"I don't like you!" Haruhi cried blushing more.

"Haruhi, denial ain't just a river in Egypt."

"I don't like you!" Haruhi cried again blushing more. "I don't like you! I don't like you!"

Marcus stepped closer to her. "You don't?"

"No!" Haruhi cried blushing more. "I...I...go away...you're making my chest hurt….damn it...now I feel like crying."

"Why?"

"I don't know!" Haruhi cried. "I just...ugh damn it I do like you!"

"There's nothin' wrong wit' that." Marcus looked down at her. "You ain't gonna shed no tears because of me."

"You make me feel weird," Haruhi said. "Like I can't breathe...like I just want to be happy when you're happy...like...ugh I don't know!"

"Then let's do it," he looked at her, "let's make it less weird for you and make you happy."

"We can't," Haruhi said quietly. "We're hosts...we can't just date each other! The fangirls would have a field day."

"Who says they have to know for now?" Marcus asked her. "As far as they're concerned it's an act like that weird shit the twins got."

Haruhi sighed softly. "But...what if we don't work out? You may hate me."

"If we don't work out, we don't. No love lost as long as you keep it a hundred wit' me."

"Ok...I guess we can try." Haruhi said softly. "But I have to warn you I've never dated anyone before."

"I'll take it as slow as you want baby girl."

"Um...what?" Haruhi asked blushing. "You just called me…"

"Don't like it? I can call you somethin' else."

"Um no, it's...new…" Haruhi admitted. "I thought you liked calling me a tanuki."

"I can call you that too." Marcus flashed a dimpled smile at her. "I'll call you whatever you want me to."

"Ok…"

Marcus smiled at her and gently patted her on the head. "Feelin' a little better?"

"Yeah...but it's still weird."

"It'll get a lil' less weird as we go." Marcus looked at her. "Wanna get some ice cream and go back?"

"Yeah...ok…"

"Hey."

Haruhi looked at him. "Yeah?" she asked softly.

Marcus leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Come on."

"Ok…"

"Do I gotta throw the tanuki on my shoulder again?"

"No...no...come on!" Haruhi said blushing more.

Marcus grinned as he picked her up and threw her on his shoulder before carrying her out of the garage.

"Damn you!" Haruhi cried out loudly flailing. "Put me down Marcus-kun!"

"Nah, don't feel like it."

"Asshole!" Haruhi cried blushing more before blinking. "Right...can we reschedule our hangout? I...um have something else to do today too...my friend Mei wants me to meet her somewhere."

"Yeah sure, no problem." Marcus sat her down with a small smile. "See ya tomorrow then."

"Sure...um…" Haruhi then blushed. "Unless you want to go but I doubt you'd want to tag along."

"What're y'all gonna be doin'?"

"Um...well err...going to an amusement park," Haruhi said. "I have an extra pass."

"Might as well. Guess I'll cook for you later. You meetin' her there or does she need a lift?"

"We're meeting there, we have to take the train," Haruhi said. "SiInce traffic is insane near the park."

"Nah, I can handle it. Get in."

Haruhi blinked. "I gotta go home and change clothes!" she said. "I can't go in my uniform and you can't go in your uniform either."

"I keep a change in my car and I can take you home."

"Ok…" Haruhi said with a small laugh. "I have to warn you that going to the amusement park is going to be an all-day thing."

"I got money, we can eat all day there." Marcus waved a hand.

"Um...ok…"


	7. My Oh My What a Wonderful Day

**Chapter 7: My Oh My What a Wonderful Day**

Haruhi sighed quietly as she began getting ready, she groaned in annoyance at the outfit sitting on the bed. She let out a silent curse towards her father for laying out a girly outfit. Damn it…" she grabbed the shirt and began putting it on with a heavy sigh. "Hey, I'll be ready in a second! I gotta find my sneakers."

"Go ahead! I'm almost done." Marcus called back from the living room.

"Ok," Haruhi called back while opening the closet. She looked inside before finding her shoes. She smiled and grabbed them before walking out into the living room. "Hey, I'm ready now."

Marcus was in the living room shirtless as he was in the process of pulling down the black wife beater over his head. He pulled it down and looked at Haruhi as he pulled his braids from its ponytail. "Ready?" he asked as he grabbed a pale yellow jacket.

"Uh yeah," Haruhi said walking to the drawer as she pulled out a pair of passes before grabbing a small watch-like band. She slipped it on her wrist before walking to him. "I got our passes."

"Cool." Marcus put the band on his wrist. He stopped and looked her up and down quietly.

"What's wrong?" Haruhi asked. "Are my jeans unbuttoned or is my shirt too short? My dad switched out my shorts and T-shirt for this…"

"You look really cute, but," he reached a hand up to smooth her hair down and then fixed the way her shirt hung on her. "Better."

"Thanks…" Haruhi said. "Are you sure you don't want us to take the train? It'll be easier and cheaper…"

"I'm sure. I like the comfort of my car."

"Ok," Haruhi said with a small smile before looking at his wrist. "You know that thing is your pass for the park right? We can avoid the lines and security checks, though you know...you'd look cute with a character on yours." she held up her wrist to show in the picture of Killmonger on the band.

"Of course you got your boyfriend on your arm." Marcus teased.

"Shush, it was the only one that I thought was cool." Haruhi hit him in the shoulder. She then looked up when she heard the phone ring. "Be right back." she walked out to the entry hallway and answered it. As she talked for a few minutes she looked over at Marcus before her expression changed. "The hell Mei!? You invited me and now you're going to skip out for a fashion event...fine fine I'll go on my own I have someone to go with. Bye." she hung up and sighed. "Damn friend."

"Looks like our date's still on. Think your man'll mind?" Marcus laughed.

Haruhi glared at him. "You're such an ass," she laughed softly. "Come on let's go and there is one more thing...you should've brought a messenger bag...we're going to buy a lot of stuff."

"I got my duffle bag."

"Yeah, no...I'll carry your stuff." Haruhi shook her head. "Let's go."

* * *

Haruhi looked at Marcus. "What? You look really shocked...didn't I say we were going to Tokyo Disneyland?"

"No, you didn't." Marcus pinched her cheeks.

"Sorry," Haruhi laughed. "But come on it won't be bad, I come here whenever I don't want to stay home all day."

Marcus shook his head and took her hand. "Come on, idjit tanuki."

"I'm not an idjit," Haruhi grumbled as she laughed and let him pull her through the gates. "Alright since you probably don't know how things work here, we're going to a store first to buy autograph books."

"Alright, then what?"

"Then we go on a thrill ride," Haruhi said. "I am thinking splash mountain….or maybe Space Mountain."

"You got a change for splash mountain? You're wearin' a white shirt y'know."

"I got a swimsuit under this," Haruhi said with a smile. "I'll be fine, then after that, we'll go character hunting...oh and then we can go see Captain EO!"

Marcus shook his head with a laugh. He looked down at her for a moment before laughing more at how her eyes seemed to light up as she planned out their itinerary. He had to admit it was adorable.

"Come on!" Haruhi said leading him to the store as she looked around. She gave a soft laugh at the people looking at things on the shelves and a few kids were running around playing with toy swords. "Ok the books are over here." she picked up a blue one and looked at it. "This one is cute...oh wait no I see a red one." she looked over her shoulder at him. "Are you gonna stand there like you're not gonna buy one too?"

"I already bought mine." He held up a Killmonger book. "They were at the door."

"WHAT?!" Haruhi cried. "That's...oh my gosh I'm getting one too!" she ran off to the door to grab one.

Marcus snickered as he went through the store. He stopped at the sight of Anna and Elsa charm bracelets. He smiled and picked the two up before grabbing a Mufasa watch. He walked back to the checkout line.

Two little girls were nearby and were arguing.

"Nu-uh, Elsa's better!"

"Anna is!"

The two little girls seemed to remind Marcus of his sister and cousin when they were little girls.

"Hey," Marcus walked over to them with a smile as he knelt in front of them. "You two wanna know what makes the both of em so great?"

The girls nodded in unison as they giggled.

"The love they got for each other. Even with everything that happened they still cared for each other enough to do what it took to make sure they were okay."

"Ooh," The girls said in unison before giggling.

"You're right, I'm sorry Bi-Bi." the girl with pigtails said hugging her sister.

"No it's ok Kitt-Kitt." the girl with the ponytail said as she hugged her back.

Marcus smiled as he stood. "You can't have one without the other. Abinaza, princesses."

The girls giggled before running off to go find their parents as Haruhi came back with a bunch of stuff she had found.

"Hey, you ready?" Haruhi asked curiously. "I just need to buy this stuff and we can go off to have fun."

"Yeah, let's go baby girl."

Haruhi laughed. "Fine fine." she went and bought everything she had before putting everything in her messenger bag. She looked at Marcus and smiled. "Alright onwards to the next thing! Splash Mountain first!"

Marcus laughed as he tucked his purchases into his bag.

Once outside the store Haruhi looked around the street and smiled brightly as she saw a lot of people were having fun.

"Oh man, we should've brought your baby cousin!" Haruhi said. "He would've loved it here!"

"He's too tiny, but we can bring my nephew with us next time."

"Awesome!"

* * *

"The last time I went on this ride was with the hosts." Haruhi shuddered at the memory. "Hikaru decided he wanted one of the animatronics and tried to steal one by getting out of a moving boat...they stopped the ride and we had to get off and go through the emergency exits because we got kicked off."

"Well, you ain't gotta worry about that this time," Marcus said as he held up the bar for Haruhi to slide into the seat.

Haruhi sighed. "I hope not." She said sliding into the seat. "All of those idiots cause so much trouble...we got banned for a week once...It sucked so much because we had planned a whole day trip and we had to go home cause of them."

Marcus shook his head as he slid in next to her and pulled the bar down until it clicked. "And you want me to suffer through their shit with you?"

"Yeah," Haruhi laughed quietly. "You're a sane person and I know you probably would've tried to drown Hikaru in this water if he tried it."

"Give enough time and I'll end up killin' all of em." He leaned back and let his arm rest on the back of the seat behind Haruhi.

Haruhi laughed before squealing when the ride started. "Awesome! It's starting! I can't wait!"

"Cute." Marcus snorted.

"Oh hush, I like these sort of rides," Haruhi said. "You go on Splash mountain then Space Mountain to dry off and then if you haven't tossed your cookies we go to Big Thunder Mountain...it's the only thing to do is brave the mountains before going on kiddy rides."

"I just said your ass was cute."

"Yeah, I know." Haruhi laughed softly as she began singing along rather badly to the song playing as they went through the tunnel that held the animatronic characters. She looked over at the scenes and smiled softly while continuing singing. She had for that second forgot Marcus was next to her as she stretched her arms out and hit him in the chest while still singing.

"So you're gonna abuse me?" Marcus asked with a laugh before he started singing over her.

Haruhi blinked. "Oh geez, I'm so sorry." She said. "I just...ugh you don't know how great it is to be on this thing! I get to hear the song before the drop!"

"Uh-huh." He pinched her side.

Haruhi squeaked out before gasping when she saw the drop coming up. "Oh, it's coming! I can't wait!" she took her hands off the bar as the boat tilted forward going down the drop. She let out a loud scream of joy.

Marcus laughed as he watched her. He snorted when she got a mouth full of water when the splash hit.

Haruhi began coughing as she looked at him with a small annoyed glare before laughing. "You chose the front of the boat for this reason...jerk."

"Spitters are for quitters." He cackled.

Haruhi rolled her eyes. "You barely got splashed! You used me as a shield you evil evil person you...but it's ok! It felt good….and you know you're kind of cute singing too."

"Nah, I ain't cute." He waved a hand with a small grin. "And you chose to get in that side."

"You're the one who let me in first." Haruhi laughed softly. "Alright, well the ride's stopped we can get out now."

Marcus got out and picked Haruhi up, carrying her out on his shoulder.

Haruhi laughed as she looked down at him. "You didn't have to do that you know." She said with a laugh. "Alright next ride! Time for me to dry off!"

"You look cute wet." He snorted as he kept her on his shoulder.

"I do not." Haruhi moved her hair from her face as she laughed before her eyes widened and she let out a curse. "On second thought let's go sit somewhere in the sun and dry off."

"Why?"

"Well…" Haruhi groaned in annoyance at hearing a familiar laugh. "On second thought come on I think there is a ride that's dark...really dark over there."

"I swear if it's a tunnel of love." Marcus shook his head as he carried Haruhi over to the ride.

* * *

"I'm so sorry Marcus," Haruhi said softly as she looked at them when they exited the ride. "I know you probably hated riding it three times...but….I have a good reason...and the song isn't that bad! It is a small world."

Marcus stared at her blankly. "What reason could you poss'bly have for ridin' that shit three times?"

"Um...well…"

"HARRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIII!"

Haruhi groaned as she was pulled into a hug and knocked off her feet by a blur of blond and arms. Marcus rolled his eyes and pulled Haruhi from him. He punched him in the head before taking Haruhi.

"Oww what was that for?!" Tamaki cried. "Marcus, how can you be so cruel? I was giving my darling little girl a hug."

"Go away, you're interruptin' us," Marcus grumbled. "Haruhi, come on."

"Aww, but can't we hang out?" Tamaki asked. "My dad's in a meeting to build a hotel on this property and it's not fun being here alone. Let's spend the day together!"

"Fuck no."

"Senpai, we're on a date," Haruhi said. "Marcus and I are having fun."

"A date?" Tamaki paled before he went to a corner and began sulking.

"Come on we can ditch him," Haruhi said shaking her head.

"Alright, let's go." Marcus picked Haruhi up and sat her on his shoulder once more before leaving.

* * *

Haruhi sighed heavily. "Damn senpai." She grumbled once they had lost Tamaki again. She looked over at Marcus. "So we can eat now, I'll go order it."

"Nah I got it." Marcus stood and stretched. "What you wanna eat?"

"Well let's see…" Haruhi looked up at the menu board that was near the table above the counters. "I guess three double cheeseburgers, two fries, and a chocolate milkshake...wait no a strawberry one...wait no chocolate...ah damn it see if they can swirl it."

"How about I get chocolate you get strawberry and we split em?"

"Are you sure?" Haruhi asked. "You don't need to do that for me, I can live with just chocolate."

"Nah. It's fine."

Marcus patted her on the head before going up to the counter. As he left a young woman with tanned skin snuck up behind Haruhi and hugged her tightly.

"Haruuuuhi!"

Haruhi turned around. "Mei?!" she cried. "What the hell are you doing here? You said you couldn't make it."

"I changed my mind," Mei said. "So having fun with your date? Did you meet him at the gates?"

"No...he's my...boyfriend," Haruhi said simply.

"Ah I see," Mei looked over at Marcus at the counter and laughed softly. "He's kind of cute you know? I think I may have to inspect him."

"How about no?" Haruhi sighed. "I do feel like I may not be doing a good job being his girlfriend."

"Why? Did you ask him not to pay for stuff?" Mei asked. "Or wait...oh god you talked to him about school?"

"No...I just...I don't know he seems too good to be true." Haruhi looked over and saw a bunch of little kids was climbing on Marcus while he waited for their food. "And he's so kind to everyone."

"Mn….I see well you two will be fine." Mei said with a small smile. "If you want me and the twins can help you out... I need a break from hearing Hikaru argue with his date...poor Cardi-chan."

"Don't call her that." Marcus joined them at the table as he sat the tray down in front of Haruhi. "Who's your friend baby girl?"

"Um…" Haruhi blushed. "This is Mei."

Mei smiled. "Hello tall chocolate mountain," she said. "You're dating my Haruhi? Isn't she a cutie? She's a really good girlfriend when she wants to be."

"I figured. When she's not tryin' to trade me in for Killmonger." Marcus sat down after passing Haruhi her order.

"Ooh, jealous much." Mei giggled. "But don't worry you're her type. She has a thing for men with braids and also ones that are good with kids. She dreams of being a mom one-oww damn it Haruhi don't pinch me!"

"Shh!" Haruhi cried. "Mei go away."

"Fine fine," Mei laughed and headed off. "The fuck!? Hikaru did you seriously steal that?! Ugh, damn it!"

"Goddamnit, are all of 'em here?" Marcus grumbled with a small sigh. He looked at Haruhi and smiled when he saw her. "You look cute red."

"Um...I'm fine...I'm fine…" Haruhi sighed heavily as she ignored her heart racing and she pulled the wrapper off her burger and began eating. "Anyway, we're fine...the others are probably gonna do other stuff...and it's only the twins and senpai. It's not like the whole host club is here."

"Hope not. I like my dates to myself."

"Mmn...so you want to go on another ride after this?" Haruhi asked. "Or we could go to...um wait it's not 7 yet."

"We can go on a ride and then chill for a while."

"Ok," Haruhi said with a nod. "So how come you were being climbed on by little kids? Did they get bored and decide to try to scale the Marcus tree?"

"Nah. They thought I was Groot." Marcus laughed. "And some of em thought I was Naveen."

"Oh…" Haruhi said with a small smile. "You're good with kids...and it's cute they're actually able to come near you and not be afraid."

"Why would they be afraid?"

"I dunno…" Haruhi said. "Most people don't like foreigners...I've seen a few people especially at school pick on people who weren't Japanese."

"Well, kids tend to be a little less judgemental the younger they are. Their parents and society haven't taught them to fear what they don't know."

Haruhi nodded. "So..err...are you having fun with me?" she asked. "I'm sorry if I am bad at dating."

"Nah. Despite your friends poppin' up I've had fun with you."

Haruhi blushed a soft hue of red and gave a soft giggle. "So...I'd like to know a little more about you."

"Whaddya wanna know?"

"Well have you ever been on a date before?"

"I've had a girlfriend before."

"Really? What was she like?" Haruhi asked curiously.

"A lot like you. Funny, smart, cute. She was my best friend in a way." Marcus shrugged.

"Really?" Haruhi asked. "Why did you two break up?"

"She moved outta the country to some boardin' school. We keep in touch but last time we talked she found herself a new dude."

"Oh...that's really sad," Haruhi said softly. "You two would've been happy together had she not moved to that school?"

Marcus shrugged. "Who knows. We could still be together or we could've broken up for some other reason."

"You'd never know." Haruhi fell silent and twisted a fry between her fingers. "But you're a great guy and I'm glad you're giving me a chance."

"I'm glad you shot your shot otherwise a thot probably would've gotten her claws in me."

"Not if you used Thot begone." Haruhi joked and laughed quietly. "Ok, next question...do you always eat a lot like I do? Or are you doing it so as not to be beaten by a girl?"

"My appetite is just as big as I am." Marcus laughed. "Truth be told I used to be a chunky boy."

"What? Really?" Haruhi began laughing. "You used to be chunky? I don't believe that!"

"Rolls, big belly, double chin and all. What made it worse is that I was wearin' my grandfather's glasses so shit talk about bully bait."

"What? Seriously?" Haruhi snorted. "Aww, you sounded like a cute little guy."

"Ha ha ha." Marcus rolled his eyes. "I dunno, guess that's why I hate it when your friend keeps fuckin' with my sister. She's got her own weight issues too and his fuck boy ass ain't helpin' shit."

"Don't worry I think Hikaru will stop when he realizes that it's wrong to keep teasing her," Haruhi said. "He's an immature idiot.."

"Yeah he keeps it up and I'll show him my damn self." Marcus looked at Haruhi. "What else you wanna know?"

"Um let's see...how about...err…" Haruhi thought for a moment. "Ok, tell me something about why your uncle's daughter won't come to visit."

"That's a sorta long and complicated story but the gist is that she ain't his by blood. She's from Aunty's first marriage to this creep but when she and Unc got married he adopted her. The dude tried to kidnap her once when she was five and since then they thought it was better for her to stay with Granmere and us. They ain't quite sure if he's still lookin' for her so they're keepin' her away for now."

"That sounds sad…" Haruhi said quietly. "But at the same time kind of a good idea even if it breaks your uncle's heart to not have his daughter with him. I don't know what my dad did I had to stay away."

"Yeah, I think they're gonna bring her here soon though. Unc's gettin' tired of playin' phone tag."

Haruhi laughed. "It'll be fun to have her around I bet," she said. "You do love your cousin I can tell. Even though you had a haunted look in your eyes when you mentioned she was adopted by your uncle."

"Haunted?"

"Yeah," Haruhi snorted before joking. "You kissed her or something?"

"Nah." Marcus rolled his eyes and flicked a french fry at her.

Haruhi yelped. "Don't waste food." She said. "Ok let's see...one more question…"

"Shoot."

"Are you going to finish those fries?" Haruhi asked laughing.

Marcus stared at Haruhi before he put a fry in his mouth. "Come get it.

Haruhi blushed. "We're in public."

"You ain't gettin' it then."

Haruhi rolled her eyes. "I'll just go buy myself more."

"Okay, okay, here." He slid the fries to her. "Imma get another kiss from you by the end of the day."

Haruhi smiled as she took the fries. "Mine," she said before laughing. "And you can try."

"Aight bet."

* * *

"So we've gotten at least 10 autographs from different characters," Haruhi said as she looked over at Marcus. "Wait when the hell did you catch the Mad Hatter?"

"While I was avoidin' gettin' my dick sucked by the Cinderella."

"Ugh not fair!" Haruhi pouted but continued looking through her book. "Well, we can find more characters while we secure a good spot for the fireworks."

"Aight." Marcus stood and stretched though blinked when he saw eyes on him. "Uh, can I help you, ladies?"

"You're cute!"

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Oooh my gosh, maybe he's a new prince!"

"Um, I'm not a prince and my girlfriend is right beside me."

The women looked at Haruhi then at Marcus before they all blushed and headed off.

"Sorry about that."

"Guess he does swing the other way."

Haruhi groaned. "Damn women," she mumbled. "I don't look like a boy do I?"

"With that hairstyle and those clothes you kinda do baby girl."

Haruhi sighed. "Well it doesn't matter," she said. "If I do look like a boy then that's ok because no one should be judged on their sex."

"Hm." Marcus shook his head with a small chuckle. "Come on, we gotta find a spot tanuki."

"Right right." Haruhi stood up quickly and began walking. "If you're going into your family's business things like this won't be as fun for you."

"Whaddya mean by that?" Marcus looked down at her. "I can still live my life while workin' and handlin' things for the clan."

"But you may have to watch over your shoulder all the time." Haruhi looked around before pointing to a spot. "Over there! And there are benches we can sit on!"

"Yeah but I'm used to that." Marcus picked Haruhi up and ran over there before another couple could get them. He sat her down just as the other couple made it to the bench.

Haruhi snorted when the other couple glared at them and walked off. "We won! You should've wished upon a star hard enough!"

Marcus shook his head with a laugh as he sat next to Haruhi. He took his jacket off and draped it on her shoulders before he leaned back and stretched his limbs.

Haruhi smiled softly. "You know you could've kept this," she said softly cuddling into it. "You'll be cold if it gets cold when it gets darker." She looked up at the sky as the sun began to set.

"Nah, I'm hot natured. I like the cold and sleep with the fan blastin'." Marcus smiled softly. As he stretched Haruhi saw his muscles ripple.

"Mmn...well still you can catch a cold if you don't dress properly." Haruhi shook her head and smiled softly at the kids running around with glowing toys. "That's so cute."

"Yeah, it is."

Haruhi fidgeted a little before she stood up and sat the jacket down. She went over to the kids and talked to one of them who had lent her their sword. She then proceeded to play a game of chase with the kids. She laughed loudly and waved at Marcus before running off to avoid being tagged. Marcus watched her with a laugh, leaning forward as his eyes followed her every movement. He smiled at the large smile on her face as she ran from the kids.

"I am Darth Tanuki! Come get me!" Haruhi called out loudly before laughing as the kids chased her more.

"Tanuki! The show's about to start!"

"Aww! Can't I play for a few more minutes?" Haruhi asked as the kids echoed her disappointment.

"If you can outrun me, sure."

Haruhi pouted. "Game over kids." she gave the sword back to the boy she'd borrowed it from and went to sit by Marcus. "Game ender early person." She mumbled.

"You're the one that didn't wanna take a chance."

Haruhi shook her head. "It's fine," she looked up at the sky then at him. "I was just having fun...I didn't play as much as most kids did...when I was little."

"Too busy with school?"

"No...too busy looking after my dad," Haruhi said softly. "My dad worked so much to take care of me after my mom died...to the point that I wanted him to rest instead of worrying about me."

"It's the parent's job to worry about the kids. If they didn't then that would've meant they didn't love you enough."

Haruhi shook her head and looked up as the sky began lighting up with fireworks to the music playing through the park. Marcus looked up at the sky with her as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. She leaned her head on his shoulder and smiled softly watching in awe at the fireworks. He smiled softly as he held her, the hand on her arm stroking it in small circles.

Haruhi looked over at him with a small smile. "Marcus…" she said blushing.

"Yeah?" He looked down at her with a small smile.

Haruhi closed her eyes and puckered her lips so he could kiss her. Marcus laughed softly and leaned down. He held her by the back of her head as he kissed her gently.

Haruhi smiled against his lips, her hands resting on his chest. She pulled away from him and blushed. She saw him smile as he leaned his forehead on hers.

"You got your kiss." She whispered.

"I know, now I want another."

Haruhi laughed softly. "Sorry but you only get two kisses a day." she joked.

"Too bad, they taste so good I can't help but want more." He kissed her forehead before leaning back and pulling her with him.

Haruhi laughed quietly. "Maybe one more kiss...at the end of our date," she said leaning her head on his shoulder with a small smile.

"I can live with that." Marcus laughed as he rubbed her shoulder.

Haruhi went silent again before she got an idea. "Hey, come on I think we should do one more thing before the park closes."

"Hm? What?"

Haruhi got up and grabbed his hand pulling him. "Come on! The line may be short now!"

Marcus got up with a laugh, grabbing their things as he put his jacket on her again.

Haruhi smiled softly. "Come on hurry up slowpoke!" she ran ahead of him and waved. "Come on let's go!"

Marcus shook his head and followed her.

* * *

Haruhi smiled and looked over at Marcus. "Alright, this ride is something that I really need you to be ready for." She said simply as she knelt down and tied her shoes tighter as she then stood up when the doors opened. "You see it's on a moving track so we need to run and get to the ride vehicle."

"The fuck kinda treadmill shit?"

Haruhi laughed. "It's set up to be this way." She explained as she looked ahead of them with a look of determination. "Come on, we're next."

Marcus shook his head and stretched as he waited for the go signal.

"Come on!" Haruhi called out laughing as she began running and managed to jump into one of the ride vehicles. "Slowpoke!"

Marcus ran after her and jumped in next to her. He slid in the seat and draped his arm across the back.

"You were sayin'?"

Haruhi began laughing. "You're good." She said before blushing. "This is one of my favorite rides too...I mean I've been here during Halloween when it was themed after Jack Skellington's movie."

"So what is it?" Marcus asked as he looked around.

"Well it's a haunted sort of ride but really it's more funny than scary." Haruhi waved a hand and looked around as she pointed to the ballroom through a window. "See? There are spirits dancing down there."

"Haunted house on wheels?" Marcus shook his head. "Fake spirits, fake news."

Haruhi glared at him. "It's all in good fun," she said with a small laugh and looked around. "I really think it's neat the way they set everything up to make it less scary for little kids and a lot of people love this ride." she opened her bag and began digging around in it before she pulled out a lanyard she bought that had pins on it. "See? The mansion is on this pin, I actually had to trade 5 pins to get this one because it was only available in America." she then pulled a pin off and looked at Marcus with a small smile and pinned it on his shirt. "There we go! Now you can do pin trading too!"

"Pin tradin'?" He shook his head and looked around. Haruhi saw him click his tongue slightly at the animatronics and projections before he leaned back as far as he could inside of the ride.

"Yeah it's fun, you can trade off pins to get rare ones," Haruhi blinking. "Oh, you don't like this place do you? I can hold your hand if you're scared."

"Not scared, a lil' annoyed." He pointed to an animatronic. "They're usin' that relic replica wrong."

Haruhi looked at him. "Why not steal it and put it in the right place." She joked.

"Nah, they're _usin_ ' it wrong. What that thang is holdin' is s'posed to ward off evil but they're usin' it to try and summon that thing in the cauldron."

"Oh…" Haruhi said as she shook her head. "You know a lot about things like that?"

"Granmere was a mambo, Ma is. We learned by helpin'."

"That sounds like fun but um what's a mambo?" Haruhi asked curiously. "Does it mean they dance the mambo to summon spirits?"

"No." Marcus snorted and laughed. "A mambo is what they basically call witch doctors and the like."

"Ooh, so your family's into black magic." Haruhi went silent before looking up at him. "Maybe you should've joined the black magic club."

"No. Not black magic. That's what stupid people who don't understand consequences use. Nah, they're mainly medicine women with holistic cures and treatments for things. Plus a lil divination."

"I see, so it actually works?" Haruhi laughed and looked up. "Oh it's done, come on let's go now. Do you want to go home or we can stay til it closes."

"Your dad ain't gonna think you've been kidnapped is he?"

"Nah, my dad knows I was going to be out all day." Haruhi waved a hand as they exited the ride. She blushed. "I wanted to do some pin trading before we go...except I am never trading this one." she held up her lanyard and showed him the Killmonger pin.

"Well, you trade while I grab an ice cream cone."

"Ooh, can you get me one too?" Haruhi asked with a small cute pout. "I want pineapple please."

"Fine, fine." He kissed her forehead before walking over to the cart.

Haruhi laughed and ran off to where she saw a group of people trading pins. She began talking to a few of them before squealing when she got another she had been looking for. She ran back to Marcus and held out the pin proudly. "I got a new pin."

"And I got your ice cream. They ran outta pineapple so I got you a chocolate strawberry swirl."

"Thank you!" Haruhi said with a laugh as she took the ice cream cone. "You know you're fun...I mean most people I know would've gotten bored and would want to leave...unless this is your first time at a park like this."

"It's not but it's fun watchin' you have fun. You're like a kid in a candy store and it's cute."

"Oh, I...um…" Haruhi went silent and laughed. "Believe me I am fun when I'm not dealing with idiots...it's no fun hearing commoner wisdom this and commoner wisdom that. ugh, the hosts don't know the fun in this place and they sure as hell make it hard to trade pins because they think it's a commoner thing and decide to go to the stores and buy the pins instead of trading them."

"So in other words, if I wanna see the fun tanuki I need to get her alone more?" Marcus looked down at her. "Anyways, you ain't gotta worry about any of that with me."

"I'm glad." Haruhi happily ate her ice cream. "I rather have fun with someone who treats me like a person but I have to ask….were you really going to pay off my debt?"

"Yeah, that way you could do somethin' less stressful with your time."

"I think it's nice you offered but I'm fine." Haruhi said. "I mean I am building people skills that's needed since I want to be a lawyer when I get older."

"A lawyer? Well, you got a job when you get your degree."

"What?" Haruhi blinked. "No no, I want to earn a job on my own not be handed one."

"By the time you get your degree, you would've earned it." Marcus shrugged. "If you really think about it everyone's handed a job but because of the work they put to it they think they've earned it."

"Mmn...I guess." Haruhi looked at him with a small smile. "You're sweet...If things don't work out you're going to be a great best friend."

"Well let's not focus on that and let's focus on each other." Marcus smiled softly.

"Yeah." Haruhi smiled and kissed him on the cheek with a small smile.

* * *

"Marcus thanks again," Haruhi said with a small laugh as she leaned against the door to her apartment. "I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

"Sure, is it my turn to bring lunch?" Marcus asked with a smile.

"Yeah but I can bring it again," Haruhi said. "I'll make anything you want for tomorrow and I'll even add extra in case you need it."

"Nah. I'll do it." Marcus smiled. "What're you gonna be in the mood for?"

"Um…" Haruhi thought for a moment. "How about shrimp? And oh! I'd like maybe...something called dirty rice? I never got to try any because whenever I had dinner at your uncle's house it was always gone by the time we got to the table."

"Alright, I'll make you somethin' you'll love then." Marcus kissed her forehead before turning to head down the stairs. "Night, baby girl."

Haruhi laughed. "Wait...you didn't get a good night kiss!" she walked over to him and kissed him gently.

Marcus smiled and held Haruhi by the small of her back as he returned the kiss.

Haruhi smiled against his lips as she pulled away from him. "Marcus...see you tomorrow."

"See ya." He let her go and watched her go into the apartment before turning and heading back to his car.


	8. I'll Protect You Tanuki

**Chapter 8: I'll Protect You Tanuki**

"Is Haruhi-dear actually smiling?'

"Ooh my god, I think she is."

"Wah! Haru-chan must've woke up on the right side of the bed!" Mimi let out a squeal and giggled as she was cuddled. "Squishy Squish do you know why Haru-chan's happy?"

"My brother must've had somethin' to do with it." China laughed as she cuddled Mimi. "Mimo, you're adorable! I wanna take you home and cuddle you forever!"

Mimi giggled. "Squishy Squish you have to share me." she snuggled China more and giggled when she saw Haruhi lean against the wall dreamily.

"Looks like she's been bit." China snorted.

"Waah!? Who bit my darling daughter?!" Tamaki cried.

"Crawdad if she got lucky." China cackled.

"A Crawdad bit her?!" Tamaki cried as he teared up. "My poor Haruhi! She was bitten by a rabid crawdad!"

"Your man ain't got no brain, does he?"

"He does...he just doesn't use it." Sally shook her head. "Rene, she wasn't bit by a real bug...except the love bug."

"Haruhi's in…" Tamaki's eyes widened and he went to a corner to sulk. "My darling little girl is dating someone else other than her beloved daddy."

"Idiot." Sally smiled. "Well if she did have fun with the tall drink of chocolate wine then I don't blame her for looking like that."

"Marcus-senpai!"

"Kyaaa, he looks so cool today!"

"Is he wearing the summer uniform without the sweater vest?! I can see his muscles!"

"And without the tie too!"

"His shirt is unbuttoned!"

"Kyaaaaaaa!"

Marcus winced at the screams of the girls as he walked past the group and over to Haruhi. He patted her on the head before holding up the insulated lunch bag.

"You ready to go to class tanuki?"

"Yeah," Haruhi said brightly. "Oh and that looks good...can I keep it with me? I won't eat all of it. I'll save you some."

"You said that Thursday and you ate it all before lunch."

"I had skipped breakfast," Haruhi said. "This time I won't eat it during class. I have snacks with me."

"Nope. I actually wanna eat lunch _with_ you today."

"Fine…" Haruhi blushed. "Oh, there's something I want to give you. Close your eyes."

Marcus closed his eyes with a shake of his head. "My eyes are closed."

Haruhi laughed quietly as she grabbed his hand and placed a wrapped gift in it. "Open them now."

Marcus opened his eyes and looked down at the gift. He then looked at Haruhi and flashed a dimpled smile before he began opening the gift.

The gift was a picture frame with their picture that they had taken on Splash Mountain. Haruhi snorted and waited for Marcus's reaction to the photo.

"I told you spitters were for quitters babe." Marcus snorted.

Haruhi glared daggers at him. "You jerk!" she cried hitting him in the chest. "I am not a spitter! Did you expect me to drink that water?!"

Marcus grabbed her wrist and pulled her close to him. He leaned down and whispered in her ear before pulling away with a small grin. Everyone watching the exchange saw Haruhi's face turn a bright red as she leaned against the wall trying to fight back her blush while fanning herself.

"Damn you…" Haruhi whispered before rushing off to class, her face burning a brighter red. She ran past a group of girls who had watched the whole exchange.

Marcus snickered. "Takashi! Honey! Let's go."

"Mark-chan, how come you made Haru-chan blush?" Honey asked as he walked over to Marcus. "Is it cause you gave her a cold?"

"Or she saw him on the corner." Mori snorted.

"No, but she saw your grandad givin' a reach around to a hobo for a dollar." Marcus snickered.

"You sure it wasn't your mom giving me a reach around?" Mori snickered. "She is a pretty good lay with her legs over her head."

"She would have to be able to find your dick without a microscope in order to do that."

"Are you sure you're not talking about your own?" Mori began laughing.

"What's a reach around?" Honey asked innocently.

"It's a-"

"It's a game you're too small to play Baby Boy!" China said, jumping up to hit Marcus and Mori on the back of their heads. "Now get to class!"

"Oi Chinabi!" Hikaru called with a smirk as he leaned against the lockers with his arms crossed over his chest. "How're your legs?"

"Closed." China scoffed as she walked away from Hikaru. "Keep usin' your hand and your busted ass tube sock Froggy Boy!"

Hikaru walked over to China and leaned down whispering in her ear. "You weren't saying that last night kitten."

"Yeah, that's right. Last night I was in my bed while you were in yours dreamin' you could get this cookie. Now back off." China pushed Hikaru away from her as she grabbed Romey's wrist and pulled her away with her.

"Ah, where am I going?" Romey blinked but noticed China's blushing face. "Nevermind, see you guys later."

"Wait for me!" Sally cried running after them.

"Hitachiin."

Hikaru sighed and turned around. "What? I was careful with her," he grumbled looking at Marcus.

Marcus growled and smashed his head into the locker by his forehead. He walked off carrying Honey on his shoulder.

"Mark-chan you look mad." Honey said quietly. "It's ok I'll beat up Hika-chan for you later."

"I'm fine."

Honey nodded.

"Marcus, how was your night?" Mori asked with a smirk. "Did you and Haruhi spend time at that park all day?"

"All day and night. Dropped her off at the apartment then went home to make lunch." Marcus said with a shrug. "Nothin' too big of a deal. Haruhi's a sweet girl."

"You didn't kiss her at the end of the date?" Mori asked.

"Mark-chan didn't kiss Haru-chan?" Honey asked. "Do you not like her Mark-chan?"

"Oh I kissed her lots of times but I don't kiss and tell."

"Sure you don't." Mori laughed quietly. "Oh, are you coming to the music room this afternoon?"

"Yeah! Mark-chan's training begins today!" Honey giggled.

"I got practice today. I skipped it yesterday to hang with Haruhi."

"We can wait for you." Honey said. "It'll be fun because you and Takashi can hang out during the host club and we can eat cake and you can help Kao-chan cook and you can make Tama-chan stop being dumb and you can help Kyo-chan admit his feelings for the princess bunny."

"He goes near her and he's dead. Simple as that." Marcus walked into the classroom and sat Honey on his respective desk.

"Mark-chan do you like the princess bunny?" Honey asked curiously. "You can have her and Haru-chan."

"No. She's my little cousin, and don't call her Bunny."

Honey blinked. "Cousin?" he asked. "And how come? She's cute like one...ok I'll call her...umn...Bun-chan!"

Marcus shrugged as he sat down. He set his bag on the back of his seat and looked up when the teacher walked in.

"Class, good morning." The teacher said brightly. "I do hope all of you had a good time last night. Today we'll get right to work."

Marcus rolled his eyes as he pulled out his workbook.

* * *

"Marcus!" Haruhi called out loudly during break time. She had came up from the first floor to see him. "Hey!"

Marcus looked up and waved at her with a small smile. "Sup tanuki? How'd you get free from the zookeeper?"

Haruhi blinked. "Oh? Well, I ran up here because…" she laughed and held up her phone with an announcement on it. "Will you go with me today? I want to go downtown to see Mitski-chan! She's holding a surprise concert at the music store."

"You know she's comin' to Unc's house after that, right?" Marcus asked in a whisper.

Haruhi's eyes widened. "Seriously?!" she cried before quieting down. "Wait...I should bring a gift...does she um like cakes? I can pick up a cake for her after school at the bakery downtown….wait am I allowed to come over? I mean it may be a family thing."

"You're technically family. You're Unc's goddaughter after all."

"But to meet your cousin...in an informal setting may be too much for her," Haruhi said. "She is going to be dressed as an idol right? Maybe she'll let me hear her new songs that are on her next CD."

"You'll be meetin' my cousin as she is. No frills and frontin'. Just be yourself and she'll like you."

Haruhi looked at Marcus. "You're kidding right?" she asked but laughed. "Who cares! I get to meet her in person! Oh, man senpai's going to have a heart attack when he finds out!"

"Do _not_ tell him," Marcus said with a small growl.

"I won't." Haruhi blinked and looked at him. "Marcus you know he's going to be at her show today right? He is her biggest fan….oh, does Birb-chan kn-."

"Calm down China-dear! Oh my...please don't run through the halls."

"CRAWDAD!" China cried. "Crawdad, Crawdad you gotta go now!"

Marcus blinked before standing and grabbing his things. "Let's go." He told his sister as he ran out of the room.

"What in the…" Haruhi blinked. "What happened?"

"I don't know...China-dear got a call and then after that, she ran to find Marcus-san."

"Maybe we'll find out when Mark-chan gets back?"

Haruhi sighed. "I hope they're ok…" she said. "I hope it isn't a family emergency or anything…"

"Let's hope not."

* * *

Rei which buildin'?" Marcus asked as the car skidded to a stop at a waterside storage facility. "They're holdin' her here right?"

"The one on the left," Reiichi said. "And we got the message early this morning, your uncle was livid when he got it.

Marcus growled and reached into his glove compartment. He pulled out a pistol and slid it into the waistband of his pants. He got out of the car and waited for China and Reiichi to get out. China stood and tucked a small pistol in her thigh holster as she grabbed the case with the money in it.

Reiichi sighed heavily as he looked at the two. "Are you sure you're going to do this trade-off?" he asked. "The princess could still be in danger."

"Once we lay eyes on her we'll know what plan to go through with," China said.

"Alright come on," Reiichi said leading them to where they had been told to meet the mysterious person. He went silent and looked through the doors. "The princess is tied to a chair...and they have gagged her."

"Alright, let's go." Marcus and China entered the warehouse and looked around it. China stood back against the door, watching as Marcus approached their cousin and untied her.

"Marky?! What are you doing here? Where's daddy?"

"Do you really want Unc here guns blazin' and burnin' everyone down?" Marcus asked as he helped her stand. "You hurt any?"

"Just my face." she showed him the handprint on her face. "I got slapped for whining."

"Did you see their faces?" Marcus stood her up and walked her back to China.

"They were um...really pale...had slicked back hair...oh and one had dark brown hair." She said thinking it over. "They said that I was to be a delivery for their boss."

"Anything else? Tattoos, eye colors?"

"Let's see...their eyes were blue and I saw a bit of a...umn...I think it was a serpent."

"Serpent?" Marcus let out a growl and curse as he pushed his cousin to China. "Get her to the car, leave the case with me."

"Right."

China sat the case down before pulling their cousin out of the warehouse. As the two girls left, a man in a dark suit with slicked-back brown hair stepped out of one of the offices and cursed.

"Who the fuck do you think-" he stopped when and glared at Marcus when he saw the younger man hold the pistol to his forehead.

"We got the girl, here's your cash." He threw the case at him. "Count it."

The man opened the case and began counting the money. He knew better than to mess with Marcus. "It's all there...my boss will be pleased that Ichiro-san complied."

"Who's your boss?" Marcus demanded. "If you don't tell me us, we got ways of gettin' it outta you."

"Ask your uncle." The man said simply. "He should know the symbol of power...a serpent."

"Wrong answer."

Marcus spun the gun around and struck the man with the butt. He watched him crumple to the ground and turned him over. Taking his belt off, he bound the man's arms with it and then used his own belt to bind his ankles. He grabbed the case after throwing the unconscious man on his shoulder and carried him out of the warehouse.

"Rei pop the trunk!"

Reiichi nodded as he popped the trunk from the car. "You're bringing him with us?" he asked in surprise. "Your uncle said to give them the money and then leave once the princess was safely with us."

"Well she's safely with us ain't she? Lettin' him walk away ain't gonna tell us who he works for and if we don't get to the source who's to say that this won't happen again?" Marcus threw the man in the trunk. "Gimme that duct tape in the glove compartment."

"Uh sure." Reiichi grabbed the duct tape and came back with it. "The tattoo the princess said she saw was a serpent, right? There is only one family that has it."

"I know but I wanna be certain." Marcus taped the man's mouth shut before he grabbed a dark pillowcase and covered his head with it.

Reiichi shook his head and went to the driver's side and opened it as he got into the car. He looked back at the two girls. "We'll be at the compound after Marcus is done with what he's doing."

"Actually I have to go back to work….so can I be dropped off at the music store?"

"You're not workin' after gettin' kidnapped. Wolf and Lotte already filled in the store managers." China said as she cuddled her cousin.

"But I'll disappoint my fans and this was my debut in Japan...I was going to sing and then sign my CDs…I really feel bad if my fans are disappointed." she teared up at the thought. "My safety is second to their feelings."

China groaned and yanked on her pigtail. "Don't be a moron! If you ain't safe and healthy then you can't perform any fuckin' way. We're takin' you back to the compound. They can reschedule until you go back on tour."

"Alright….and don't pull my hair...it took my stylist too long...anyway I'll be home with daddy then I'll stay there til it's safe for me to go again." She hugged China. "Besides it's a visit for a week."

"And you can see your new baby brother. He's so cute!"

"EH!? Brother?! Seriously!? But daddy's like 50 and mama's like 60! They're old!"

"Unc is 40 and Aunty is like 38, chill." China rolled her eyes. She looked out the back when she saw the trunk close.

Marcus got into the front seat. "Let's go back to the mansion so I can have a talk with this creep."

"Oh Marky...there is one thing the guy said….apparently he said that the serpent will strike the dragon."

"Before or after we kill it?" Marcus grumbled as he sunk back into his seat. The girls saw him perk slightly and move to answer his ringing phone. "Hello?"

"Marcus where are you? Are you ok?" Haruhi asked. "You ran out of school like you were insane. What happened?"

"I'm fine baby girl, there was a little issue I had to handle. I'm on my way to the compound now."

"Are you not coming back to school?" Haruhi asked. "If you're not I can get your homework from your teachers and bring it to you."

"Depends on how long this takes me, but you can go ahead and get it just in case."

"Ok...oh um...I love you." Haruhi said with a small giggle.

China and their cousin giggled when they saw Marcus blush slightly in the rearview mirror.

"Ooooh. Is that your new girlfriend Crawdad?"

"Marky has a girlfriend? Oooh Marky and his girlfriend sitting in a tree F-U-C-K-I-yeek! I quit!"

"If you two don't stop I'm gassin' y'all out red bean and rice style!" Marcus shouted over his shoulder.

"Fine...new boyfriend says what?"

"Wha-oh goddamnit."

"Girls it's not right to tease him," Reiichi said. "Master Marcus may be in love with the tanuki wonder but that doesn't mean you two can tease him. How would you like it if he teased you two about dating someone?"

"He'd troll Chi-Chi even if she wasn't dating anyone...and it's fine if Marky has a girlfriend. He can finally smile again and be happy. I wish all the happiness for him cause he was sad before."

Marcus groaned softly. "Yeah...love you too baby girl," he muttered to Haruhi.

Haruhi began laughing as she ended the call.

"Oooooh!"

"Shut up!"

* * *

Haruhi looked down at her phone as she walked to the large gate. She looked up and rang the bell. She hadn't heard from Marcus and decided that it was best for her to visit instead of waiting for him to call her over.

"Hey Sweetcheeks!" China's voice chirped over the intercom. "Crawdad's still handlin' that business from earlier but come on in. You can meet Bun-Buns and play with Toot while you wait."

The gates opened with a buzz and soft creak.

"Still busy?" Haruhi began to worry but sighed deciding to wait until she got inside to find out what was going on.

When she walked through the front door she was greeted by a dozen men lined up on both sides of the hallway. They were dressed in black with solid colored shirts.

"Welcome Fujioka-chan!" they boomed as they bowed to her.

Haruhi nearly jumped a mile but smiled at them. "Um...thanks?" she said walking down the hallway and past the row of men.

The further down the hall she got the louder a baby's coos became. Poking her head into a room, she held back a squeal at the sight of Tarou cuddling his cousin happily. China looked up and waved Haruhi in with a laugh.

"Come and wait with us." She smiled as she motioned to a girl that was busy pulling out outfits for the baby.

Haruhi blinked a few times and walked into the room as she sat on the floor with China and the baby. "So is that?" she motioned to the girl.

"Yep. Bun-Buns, introduce yourself to Crawdad's girlfriend. Oh, and she knows."

"Hmn? Marky's?" The girl turned around holding a pair of blue overalls. "Ah! You're Marky's girlfriend! Hi! I'm Jenny!"

Haruhi blinked but smiled. "Hi, so you've come home?"

"Just for a while," Jenny explained as she sat on the floor and held out the outfit for Tarou. "Look! You have a cute outfit to wear today!"

"Give it here and I'll change him." China laughed. "You can chill in here Sweetcheeks, Crawdad is givin' an uh...interview so he's tied up."

The girls all winced when they heard a bloodcurdling scream.

"That's a movie one of the men're watchin'." China lied.

"What?" Haruhi blinked. "Are you sure? It sounded really real...and close."

"Yeah, it's a movie! Don't worry!" Jenny waved a hand. "So you and Marky are dating? Tell me you're gonna be nice to him right?"

"Yes, we're dating and I'm nice to him," Haruhi said quietly. "I mean I enjoy all of the time I spend with him and he's amazing."

"So you like everythin' about him? Includin' his future career plan?" China asked as she changed Tarou into his bear onesie.

"Yeah...I worry about him…" Haruhi admitted. "But he reassured me that he'll be fine."

"Marky is strong and he's right you don't need to worry." Jenny glared at China. "Chi-Chi put him in the outfit I chose!"

"I just want you to see him in the onesie first!" China held up Tarou. "Adorable, right?"

"It's cute! But he can't move in it right."

Haruhi shook her head. "You know if Marcus saw you two put him in that he'd have your heads. He loves the little guy and I'm sure he doesn't want him to be dressed girly."

"He picked it out." China giggled as she dressed Tarou in the outfit laid out for him.

"Seriously?" Haruhi began thinking as she snorted at the thought of Marcus and Tarou dressed alike. She began laughing as she fell to the floor holding her sides. "Oh god...that's awesome!"

"I think she did the imaginin' them dressed alike thing," China whispered to Jenny before looking up when she heard footsteps.

Marcus leaned in the doorway watching the three of them, smiling as he held back a laugh at Haruhi. His arms were folded over his chest, t-shirt stained with blood as his knuckles were bruised and bloodied.

"Oh man...can you guys imagine?" Haruhi stood up and began dancing around. "Hey look at me! I'm Marcus Sakurai and I'm a big teddy bear and this is my little teddy bear! Come watch me do a goofy dance!"

"I don't do goofy dances baby girl."

Haruhi froze up and turned to the door. "Marcus!?" she cried blushing. "Oh um...how long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to see that horrible impression of me."

"Uh...yeah I was just…" Haruhi began before her eyes widened. "Oh my gosh, are you ok?! Your shirt and knuckles are bloody!"

"Oh yeah I'm fine, it ain't mine."

"It's not?" Haruhi asked softly. "Oh, so it's...someone else's!?"

"Yeah." Marcus shrugged. "Don't worry, he's alive. For now."

"Oh…" Haruhi said before smiling. "Oh! Um, you want to play with us? Tarou-chan's awake and dressed in cute clothes!"

"Sure, gimme a sec." Marcus pulled his t-shirt off and began ripping the fabric. Haruhi saw him wrap the ripped pieces around his knuckles before wiping any blood off his chest with the rest of the fabric.

Haruhi watched him a moment before blinking when she heard a squeal. "Oh, Tarou-chan? What's wrong?"

"He wants Marky, cause Chi-Chi is cuddling him too much."

"C'mere lil' man." Marcus gave a soft smile as he reached for the baby.

Tarou gave a soft squeal and looked up at China as he pouted wanting to be let go. He turned his head into her chest and whimpered.

"Okay, okay, here." China handed Tarou to Marcus with a small pout. "Traitor baby."

Marcus laughed as he cuddled his baby cousin, smiling when the baby cooed and laid his head on his cousin's chest while trying to suck on his necklace.

"He only loves Marcus," Haruhi laughed quietly. "Don't worry Birb-chan, you still have someone that loves you….a certain ginger-haired twin."

"Fuck him and the devil horse he rode in on." China spat as she cuddled Jenny. "Nya, I still have my Bun-Buns."

"You would but um…" Jenny said with a small nervous laugh. "Daddy was going to take me to play mini golf...I just needed to change Tarou for mama."

"Oh well go ahead. I'm not gonna fight Unc for you." China smiled as she sat up. "I think I'mma go bother Rei and do clean-up duty in the interview room."

"Alright and when I come back I'll show you the new song I am working on." Jenny stood up as she dusted off her dress and walked out of the room. "Daddy! I want to go drive go-karts too!" she called.

"You got on drivin' shoes?" Ichiro's deep voice boomed back.

"Yes! My pink sneakers!" Jenny laughed as she left the room.

Haruhi shook her head. "So that's your cousin...she's a cute one...her hair is pretty long though."

"She gets that from Aunty." Marcus laughed as he sat on the bean bag chair with Tarou. He looked down at the baby as Tarou's head bobbled while he cooed. "So how was the rest of school?"

"It was busy as always," Haruhi said. "I mean the others had us leave class early because the ouran fair's coming up."

"Wassat?" Marcus patted the spot on the bean bag chair next to him.

Haruhi went and sat next to him. "It's an event like a school festival where all of the students run everything," she said watching Tarou. "Aww, little guy you're a cutie."

"So is attendance mandatory or do people skip that too?" Marcus laughed as Tarou's lips twitched in a smile before going back to a serious stare.

"You can skip it but why not participate?" Haruhi asked.

"Don't feel the need to?"

"But it's fun!" Haruhi said brightly.

"Alright, if I go you owe me a home cooked meal."

"Ok," Haruhi said as she blinked. "What's with the baby's face? Why is he so serious?"

"He does this when he doesn't get attention." Marcus tickled Tarou under his chin and the baby cracked a toothless grin as a choked giggle came from him.

"Sneaky." Haruhi laughed quietly and stretched as she looked up at the ceiling. "So your interview...was it for a reason?"

"Some guy made a threat against the family for his boss. I wanted to make sure it was who we thought." Marcus shrugged as he kept tickling Tarou. "I was right."

"Oh," Haruhi smiled softly watching Marcus and Tarou before reaching out and tickling the baby's chin. "No more violence when a baby is in the house."

Marcus snorted. "Fine, I'll tell you when I drop you off to your house."

Haruhi nodded. "Ok," she looked at Tarou again and laughed. "Hey Tarou-chan who's a good baby? You are! You are! Can you say Haruhi?"

Tarou cooed and laid his head on Marcus's chest, hiding his face in it after letting out a squeal.

"That's right you're cute!" Haruhi laughed softly. "Tarou-chan you're my favorite Sakurai boy now."

"Rude." Marcus snorted.

"What? He's small and cute." Haruhi pointed out. "And you're big and cute too but he needs more love."

"Still rude." Marcus laughed softly. He laid back in the bean bag and laid Tarou on his chest.

Haruhi glared at him as she took the baby from him and cuddled him gently. "Hey little Tarou, you're a cutie, I love you! You're a cutie! When you're old enough I'll teach you to read."

Tarou let out a whine at being taken away from his cousin. He hiccuped before he started to whimper and cry.

Haruhi blinked. "Wait don't cry!" she said and began singing trying to get him to calm down. Tarou began wailing louder as he flailed and squirmed. Marcus took him back and smiled when the baby calmed down and cuddled into him.

"You spoiled him." Haruhi shook her head. "So...um you want to maybe...go out tonight?"

"Sure, we can get some food and have a picnic by the lake."

"Actually, I was…" Haruhi stood up and went to grab her bag she left by the door. She opened it and pulled out a bag she had gotten from McDonald's. "I was thinking we could go to the roller rink...and also I forgot I had this...I brought a small snack."

Marcus laughed. "The roller rink? Why not an arcade?" He sat up and laid Tarou on his back on his lap. "You got enough to share or is it tanuki food only?"

"Well…" Haruhi said and looked at Marcus. "And you want some? Well, I guess so."

"Come on and share. I don't bite."

Haruhi looked down at the bag then up at him. "Alright," she said pulling out her mega mac and split it in half. She gave him the smaller piece.

"Really? I get the baby half?"

Haruhi nodded. "What? It's as big as mine." Haruhi said simply. "Besides you're holding a baby, and it's wrong to eat something he cannot eat yet."

"I do it all the time. He don't fuss none." Marcus shook his head as he took a bite of his share. "Stingy tanuki tryin' to find loopholes."

"Well um…" Haruhi thought for a moment. "Fine you can have another piece...but only because you need your energy….unless you want to wait until we get to the rink...um also you have to wear something nice too."

"How nice?"

Haruhi smiled. "Something you can skate in," she said. "And something you can play laser tag and arcade games in too." she gave a small squeak at the sleeping Tarou. "Aww! He's sleeping!"

Marcus laughed as he stood with Tarou in his arms. He carried him to his bassinet and laid him down on his back, taking his little shoes off and setting them on the floor.

"You know his shoes could go on a shelf," Haruhi said with a small smile. "Aww look at his little face!"

Marcus leaned down and kissed his forehead before turning to Haruhi. "Let's go. I got a change of clothes here."

"Ok," Haruhi said with a small smile. "By the way, I have to ask...why didn't you and Birb-chan go with your uncle? You two look like the types to go play mini golf."

"We got all the time in the world to spend with her. Unc has been missin' her a lot and we ain't wanna interrupt their time together."

Haruhi nodded. "Ah I see," she snorted. "You know it's the first time I've seen your uncle in something other than a suit...he looks like such a dad."

"How else are dads supposed to look?" Marcus asked with a snort.

"Um...well...let's see…" Haruhi said. "Wearing T-shirts and skinny jeans? Like my dad? Though now that I think about it...my dad in skinny jeans must mean his balls are non-existent at this point because of how tight they are."

"I did not need that description," Marcus said with a blank stare. He patted Haruhi on the head before grabbing her bag and pulling her out of the room so that Tarou could sleep in peace.

Haruhi shook her head and hummed quietly as she looked up at him. "You asked what I

thought a dad was supposed to look like."  
"Crawdad! I made you and your guest some snacks!"

"Oh alright, we're goin' to my room," Marcus called as he let Haruhi's hand go to take the snack tray from his aunt.

Stella smiled. "I hope you don't mind that I baked you a cake," she said. "Oh and I made some tea too, I hope you don't mind that I am using your special tea set."

"Special tea set?" Marcus looked down at it with a small sigh. "No...thank you, Aunty." He shook his head and carried the tray to his room. He sat it down on the table in front of his bed before walking to the closet.

Haruhi snorted. "Aunt's boy." She said quietly as she giggled. "Aww, Crawdad has a special tea set!"

"Shut up. You want the snack or not?"

"Yeah, I want it," Haruhi said. "It looks like a chocolate pudding cake...ooh and it has cream on top! Share with me baby Crawdad."

"Ha ha ha, I got your baby, tanuki," Marcus grumbled as he walked out of his closet in his underwear. He walked past Haruhi and grabbed a fresh t-shirt from the dresser before walking back to the closet.

Haruhi stared at him. "Hey…" she said quietly. "You wear such tight underwear...your balls are non-existent too."

"Do you really wanna see for yourself? Be lucky I'm even wearin' any draws at all."

Haruhi laughed. "Maybe some other time and um...you freeball it? Wow...daring…" she said. "We were meant to date...ah why did I say that?!"

Marcus smirked. "And what do you mean by that oh cunnin' tanuki wonder?"

"Nothing!" Haruhi took the biggest piece of cake and smiled brightly. "Ooh, this looks good!"

Marcus walked over and took it from her. "Nope, you got the biggest half of the burger."

"Hey! I claimed that!" Haruhi cried. "Fine, I'll just eat four times as much at the rink….Crawdad."

"Tanuki." He took a bite of the cake with a victorious smirk, licking the icing from his lips before carrying it with him back to the closet.

"What are you? RKelly-san?" Haruhi asked. "Get out of the closet!"

"If I come outta it again I'mma be butt ass naked, let me get dressed onna."

"Sure fine," Haruhi looked around his room as she stood up and went to his bed. She looked down at it. "The hell? You got a bug doll?"

"It ain't a bug, it's a crawdad."

"Oh? It's a crawdad…" Haruhi picked up the doll and looked at it. "It's cute, but he needs a friend."

"A friend?" Marcus stepped out in a pair of loose fitting jeans and a striped button up that he was in the process of buttoning.'

"Yeah, a friend…" Haruhi said. "Ah, I know! He can be friends with Tanu-chan! She needs a friend."

"Tanu-chan. Lemme guess, a stuffed tanuki."

Haruhi nodded. "Yep! She's my best friend," she said. "A great listener, she likes my bed and she also watches my fish Mako."

"You got a pet fish? Why? All they do is swim and stare at you as you get dressed."

"She's a good listener," Haruhi said. "And she knows how to do tricks...she can flip in her bowl."

"Uh-huh." Marcus buttoned the shirt up and grabbed his slice of cake. He sat on the bed and began eating it again.

"And it's the only pet allowed in my apartment building." Haruhi reminded him. "Cats and dogs aren't allowed."

"Sad. Cats make good pets."

"Cats are cute," Haruhi admitted. "But I love Mako more, she's a cute fish."

"Mm, more like cute food." He sat his empty plate down and picked up a cup of tea.

"So…" Haruhi said with a small smirk. "Crawdad tea set...you are an aunt's boy...she spoils you."

"You got a problem with that baby girl?"

"It's cute." Haruhi laughed. "You're so cute when you're embarrassed."

"Shut up, t'aint cute," Marcus grumbled as he sipped his tea.

"Crawdad! I finished washing all of your underwear! Including your Black Panther ones with the fangs around the waistband!"

Haruhi began laughing loudly. She saw Marcus grumble more as he hid his face in his hands and fell backward onto the bed.

"Aww, it's cute!" Haruhi laughed. "Wakanda forever!"

"Shut up."

Haruhi laughed. "What's wrong? You're freezing on me? Don't want me to see your special underoos?" she got up and sat next to him as she kissed him. "It's cute…"

Marcus looked up at her and shook his head with a roll of his eyes. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her down to lay beside him.

Haruhi smiled against his lips and pulled away. "Marcus...you're so sweet...I think I am falling more in love with you."

"You think so? You just met me this week." He chuckled softly.

"It's weird...you seem like a person I want to be with for a while," Haruhi said quietly.

"Good, I don't believe in short relationships."

Haruhi laughed before sitting up again. "We should go," she said. "We need to be there at six."

"Why six? We ain't meetin' up with your friends are we?"

"Um…"

She saw Marcus shake his head and sit up. "Fine, but," he pulled her in for a kiss. "I get you to myself later."

Haruhi blushed. "Ok...you can keep me to yourself."

He smiled and kissed her again before sitting up. "Come on, let's go play nice with your friends."

Haruhi smiled. "They'll be your friends too."

"Mn. If you say so."

"You'll have fun!"

"Fine fine." Marcus looked at Haruhi as he stretched, taking his braids down from their ponytail.

Haruhi laid back down and smiled softly.

"I thought we were supposed to be goin'."

"We are, I just want to lay on your chest," Haruhi said. "It's soft."

Marcus snorted. "Well, that's fat and muscle you're layin' on." He rubbed her arm as he sighed.

"Still soft."

Marcus laughed and closed his eyes as his hand went to play in her hair.

* * *

"Mmn…" Haruhi yawned before looking down at Marcus. "Eh!? We...we fell asleep…"

Marcus yawned and stretched under Haruhi. He rolled over on his side and wrapped his arm around her, burying his face into her side.

Haruhi blushed and ran a hand through his hair gently. She looked outside and saw it was darker than it had been earlier and then she looked at the clock on the table. It was 10. "Marcus...hey! Wake up!"

She saw his nose scrunch up before a hazel eye cracked open and looked up at her.

"What?" he grumbled, his voice much deeper than usual.

"We missed the event," Haruhi said. "And I need to get home it's 10...so I'll see you tomorrow."

"Hold on, lemme splash some water on my face and drive you."

"I'm fine, the trains haven't stopped running," Haruhi said. "You go back to sleep ok? I'll be fine."

"Nah, let's go." He stood and walked into the bathroom adjacent to his room. He came back after the sound of water rushing was heard.

Haruhi sighed. "Marcus, go back to bed, I can go home by train." She said. "It's not that big of a deal."

"Nope. Get your stuff."

"I said I'm fine," Haruhi said. "Go back to bed right now Marcus Sakurai or else I'll...I'll never cook for you again."

"Nope. I wanna make sure you get home safe and I'm not gonna be satisfied unless I see you walk through your door."

"You need your rest!" Haruhi snapped before looking up as she heard the front door opening. "Damn it someone heard us."

"I'll rest when I get home. Now come on."

"Fine…" Haruhi grumbled as she went to open the door. She held back a small squeak and giggled softly. "Aww your uncle's back...and he's carrying your cousin...she's asleep how cute!"

"Oh, you're gone?" Ichiro asked with a small smile as he adjusted Jenny in his arms.

"Yeah, I'm gonna drop the tanuki off and then go home."

"Alright. Be safe, see you later Tanuhi."

Haruhi smiled. "Bye Ichiro-san," she said. "You look happier too."

Ichiro shook his head. "See ya kids, be careful out there."

"Yeah, yeah." Marcus took Haruhi's hand and led her down the hall to the entryway.

* * *

"I'm home now," Haruhi mumbled. "You can go back to sleep at your own house and I'll see you later." She said standing near the stairs to her apartment. "Good night."

"Go in and then I'll go to my car," Marcus said with a small smile.

Haruhi sighed as she kissed him before she went up the stairs and waved at him when she got to her floor. "Go to your car now and go home!"

"Fine, fine." Marcus got in the car and crunk it, not pulling off until he saw that Haruhi had entered the apartment.

Haruhi shook her head and went inside her apartment, she felt something on her arm and blinked when she saw someone standing near her. "The hell?" she let out a scream. She began pulling away from him before she ran into her apartment and slammed the door. She pulled out her phone and called Marcus.

"Hello? What's wrong?" She heard Marcus ask over the sound of his radio turning down.

"Marcus…" Haruhi said softly. "Marcus…"

"Lock your door and don't answer it until you hear me knock." She heard the sound of tires squealing before the engine revved to life.

"Ok…" Haruhi said softly locking her door. She looked out the peephole and saw the guy was gone.

Marcus cursed under his breath as he sped back to the complex. Pulling into the parking area, he parked the car and searched his glove compartment until he found his gun. Slipping it into his waistband, he got out and bounded up the stairs three steps at a time. He knocked on the door three times before knocking two more times.

"Haruhi."

Haruhi opened the door armed with a frying pan as she blinked. "Marcus!" she cried as she hugged him.

"Hey, hey, where was he?" He asked her softly as he rubbed her back gently.

"Near my door," Haruhi said. "I was opening it and he grabbed my wrist...I-I don't know who he was."

"Alright, I'mma go check and see if he's still around. Lock the door behind me, ok?"

Haruhi nodded. "Be careful," she begged.

She saw him smile and kiss her forehead before he closed the door behind him. Stepping onto the balcony area, he walked around the perimeter, checking to see if anyone was still there. At hearing footsteps below him, he peeked over the railing to see a hooded man walking hurriedly.

"Hey! You!"

The hooded man looked up at Marcus before he began walking faster to reach the exit. Marcus narrowed his eyes. Taking a few steps back, he leapt over the railing. Grabbing the walkway, he swung and landed in front of the man.

"I said hey!" He grabbed the front of his hoodie and lifted him up.

The man looked at Marcus quietly before his hood came off his head revealing a boy with brown hair and blue eyes.

"What're you doin' here?"

"I...I live here." The boy lied.

"Show me where." Marcus set him down and pushed him forward. "Go on."

The boy nodded and began walking down the hallway slowly as he held back his urge to run from Marcus. "You don't have to follow me."

"Yeah, I do. There's a creep around harassin' people, especially young girls. You wouldn't know nothin' about it would you?"

"No…," the boy said as he stopped at an apartment door. "Ok, I'm at my apartment you can let me go now."

"Go in."

"I...um...I don't…" the boy said nervously.

"If you live here you should be able to get in right?" Marcus asked, taking note of the boy's sudden nervous demeanor. "I don't like liars and if you're lyin' to me and you're the one harassin' the girls around here well then I'll have to handle you myself."

"I lost my key." the boy lied.

"Don't you keep a spare outside?"

"No."

"Hm." Marcus eyed him quietly before pulling his phone out. The boy saw him punch in a few numbers before he held the phone up and put it on speaker phone. "Hello, police? I got a guy standin' in front of me that harassed a girl outside of her apartment."

"We'll send officers to your location now." the dispatcher said.

"He's in a gray hoodie, brown hair, blue eyes. Kinda scraggly and sickly lookin'." Marcus looked the boy up and down. "Says he lives here but ain't got any keys on him."

"I'll need your location." the dispatcher said as they were heard typing something trying to look up the boy's description in their database.

Marcus gave them their location. "Fourth floor, he harassed a girl on the fifth."

"Alright, they'll be on their way. The dispatcher said as the call ended.

"I do live here!" the boy cried again. "I didn't bother any girl on the fifth floor!"

"Uh-huh, sure."

"I do!" The boy insisted. "I just...lost my key that's all!"

"Don't believe you," Marcus called Haruhi. "Baby girl."

"Marcus? Did you find the guy?" Haruhi asked softly. "I saw you running."

"Did you get a decent look at his face?"

"Um...I saw his eyes...they were behind a pair of large glasses." Haruhi said. "I think they were blue."

"Could you recognize him if you saw a picture of him?"

Haruhi nodded. "Yeah."

"Smile for the camera." Marcus took a picture of the boy and sent it to Haruhi.

"That's him," Haruhi said after she looked at the picture.

"Good, police're on their way. I'll come up when they get done with him."

"Ok...be careful."

"Always am. Call your dad home too."

"Ok…"

"I'll be up soon," Marcus promised as the sound of sirens filled the air.

The boy sighed as he looked at Marcus. "I'm telling you, man, I live here!"

"Tell the cops. I don't give a shit."

The boy glared but quickly went silent when he saw a couple of police officers walking towards them

"The girl he harassed already id'd him by lookin' at his picture," Marcus told the cops quickly as he stepped back.

The police officers nodded and went to the boy before they handcuffed him and began leading him down the hallway.

"So Ichiro's nephew is the one who called in the tip?" a woman's voice said from behind Marcus. "I'm impressed you didn't kill him."

"I'm new here, I ain't gonna cause too much trouble. Yet." Marcus looked at the woman. "Spidermonkey?"

The woman nodded. "Hello there Marcus-kun," she said. "It's nice to see you again, my you've grown...you're almost as tall as my son."

"Nah, I'm taller than him." Marcus waved a hand. "Do you need to talk to her? She's waitin' in her apartment for me."

"We've caught the boy and we won't need to ask her anything." the woman said with a small smile. "Take care of her." she then began walking down the hallway as she was heard telling the other officers to make sure the boy didn't try to talk his way out of being taken to the station.

Marcus headed up the stairs and knocked on the door in the same pattern as before. "Haruhi."

Haruhi opened the door and was instantly in his arms. "Marcus!" she cried.

Marcus smiled and entered the apartment with her clinging to him. He slipped his shoes off and lifted her up, carrying her over to the couch.

"They arrested him and are takin' him in."

Haruhi nodded. "Ok…" she said softly. "Don't leave me."

"I'll stay here as long as you want, or until your dad gets here. You did tell him that you got someone waitin' with you, right?"

Haruhi nodded. "Yes…"

"Alright." Marcus laid back on the couch and pulled Haruhi to lay on his chest. He wrapped them both in the blanket on the back of it and rubbed her back in soft circles, humming softly to soothe her nerves.

"Marcus…" Haruhi whispered. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you before...if I had been alone...who knows what would've…"

"Shh, don't worry about it." Marcus looked down at her. "Call it old habits from back home, I always made sure my friends made it home and inside safe."

Haruhi nodded. "But I would've…" she said softly again.

"But you didn't. Focus on that instead." He shifted under her and pulled the gun from the back of his waistband. Turning the safety on, he sat it on the floor and slid it under the couch out of sight but within his reach.

Haruhi nodded as she finally calmed down. "Marcus thank you so much…" She said. "Thank you for coming back...thank you for saving me….thank you…"

"You ain't gotta thank me for that," he looked down at her. "If you ever need me, just call me and I'll come runnin'."

"Ok…"

They went quiet as Haruhi found herself being drawn into his embrace even more. A small smile crossed her face as she nuzzled it into the crook of his neck. She could still smell his cologne. Under the hands on his chest, she could feel his heart beating as it began to calm. It was steady, strong and soothing...much like him.

Haruhi glanced upwards to see that Marcus' eyes were closed with a small smile on his lips.

"Marcus?" There was no way he had fallen asleep already. "Marcus." Haruhi sat up and patted his cheek.

Hazel eyes opened and looked up at her. "Yeah, baby girl?"

"Oh, um, were you sleeping?"

"No, just thinkin'." Marcus smiled at her. "Don't worry, just rest."

Haruhi nodded as she laid down and cuddled him more. "I love you...I mean it this time."

"You do, huh?" Marcus smiled and kissed the top of her head. "I love you too."


End file.
